Hidden Truth
by aeternus aenigma
Summary: The truth isnt always what you see. A change of thought causes confusion and lots more. please give it a go! complete and ending rewritten!
1. Default Chapter

Hidden Truth.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognise! Just doing this for fun. (this will be the only disclaimer posted)  
  
PG13 – Draco/ Hermione.  
  
Summary: The truth isn't always what you see. A change of thought causes confusion and more.  
  
A/N: This is my second attempt at fan fiction so hope you enjoy it. (doesn't Draco look gorgeous in prisoner of azkaban!)  
  
"Well, well, well" drawled a voice that had just appeared in the compartment of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley.  
  
"What do we have here" it continued. "a scarhead, weasel, mudblood and a weaslette"  
  
The voice could only belong to Draco Malfoy, prince of Slytherin, whose sole purpose appeared to be to annoy Gryffindors and follow in the footsteps of his father, the infamous Lucius Malfoy – the dark arts.  
  
Malfoy smirked his trademark smirk as he saw the anger rising in his nemesis faces.  
  
"Sod off ferret" shouted Ron Weasley, who was known for his short temper.  
  
"Now, now, weasel. Better watch what you're saying, I could take points off Gryffindor, seen as I am senior prefect for Slytherin" the boy retorted.  
  
"What!" Hermione jumped slightly, she was the senior prefect for Gryffindor and did not relish in the thought that she would have to spend more time with the blond prat. She calmed herself and spoke steadily.  
  
"and how much did daddy pay for that one?"  
  
The Slytherin's eyes narrowed into slits as hissed  
  
"You'll pay for that mudblood"  
  
With this he stalked out of their compartment followed by his two ape- like cronies.  
  
"Well that was pleasant" Ginny said, the sarcasm evident in her voice.  
  
"Far be it from Malfoy to say anything civil to anyone" Harry replied.  
  
Ron, still irritated piped up "I preferred him when he was a ferret"  
  
They all laughed remembering the time that Mad- Eye Moody had turned Draco Malfoy into a white ferret and bounced him down the corridor.  
  
Meanwhile in another compartment Draco huffed as he dropped into a seat.  
  
"Bloody Gryffindorks. Insulting a Malfoy like that, hmmph"  
  
His cronies, Crabbe and Goyle were too busy stuffing their faces to listen to Draco's rant. He looked at them with disgust. At that moment Blaise Zabini walked into the carriage, he was also in Slytherin and Draco's best friend.  
  
"Hey Draco, what's up?" he asked  
  
Draco looked up at Blaise clearly annoyed. Blaise observed him for a minute then said  
  
"Well, for you to reach this level of annoyance it would have to be certain Gryffindors"  
  
"How'd you guess?" Draco inquired dryly  
  
"Well" Blaise started "I've known you all our lives and seen your varying levels of negative emotion"  
  
He paused to take a breath  
  
"Inept younger years and any hufflepuffs cause mild annoyance, Pansy or your many admirers whining/ simpering or such actions cause more of an irritation. So leading me to the conclusion that, seen as we haven't yet reached Hogwarts – you've had a run in with those who live to annoy" he finished  
  
"Blaise, you have way too much time on your hands" Draco commented at his long- time friend.  
  
"But am I right?" Blaise pressed  
  
"As always" Draco sighed.  
  
Blaise nearly always knew the cause of Draco's troubles, even before he did. Draco sometimes thought that Blaise had some sort of psychic ability, or really good intuition. Blaise had a triumphant look on his face.  
  
"Knew it" he said "we're almost there".  
  
--------------  
  
A/N: well that's the first chapter done. How was it? Reviews would be helpful if you can 


	2. chapter 2

A/n: huge thank you to my reviewers, you guys rock!! On with the story.

Chapter 2:

"Welcome, welcome to another school year" Albus Dumbledore announced cheerfully  
  
Too cheerful for some.  
  
"As much as I like this place, I wish we didn't have so many lessons" Ron moaned.  
  
"I don't see how you two cannot be the least bit interested in learning new things" Hermione almost scolded.  
  
"Its not that we don't like learning new things, it's the masses of homework that accompanies the new things" Harry stated  
  
"But that's part of the learning" Hermione countered  
  
"You'd think that after five years she'd realise we are never going to be the studying type" Ron added  
  
Harry smiled whilst Hermione gave a small huff in her seat. Mean while over at the Slytherin table a certain blond haired boy was continuing his bad mood.  
  
"Why does everyone have to be so damned cheerful" Draco snapped at Blaise  
  
"I see someone still hasn't got on the right side of their broomstick" Blaise commented back.  
  
Draco just huffed in his chair. As he scanned the room he noticed a certain wavy haired Gryffindor also huffing in her seat.  
  
"At least I'm not the only one having a strop" he thought "even if the other person is a mudblood".  
  
After the feast had finished Dumbledore made an announcement for the head boy and girl and the senior prefects to stay behind for a quick talk.  
The four senior prefects, who included Padma Patil from Ravenclaw and Ernie Macmillan from Hufflepuff along with Hermione and Draco, stayed behind with the head boy, Jordan Rees from Gryffindor and head girl Jenna Wyatt from Ravenclaw. Dumbledore congratulated the two seventh years on becoming head boy and girl then dropped the first bombshell of the year – a dorm and common room just for the four prefects near the heads dorm. They all just smiled and nodded.  
  
"Now for the next order of business" Dumbledore continued with a sparkle in his eye, "we will be holding a Halloween ball for the fourth years and up. I will leave the decoration and such to you all"  
  
This was met with a bit more enthusiasm. Then came possibly the worst bombshell.  
  
"Oh, one final thing" Dumbledore added "you will attend the ball with a fellow prefect, thank you"  
  
Hermione and Draco had similar looks of terror on their faces as they had both noticed the closeness between Padma and Ernie and him asking her to the ball.  
  
"Oh no" Hermione thought "if their going together and naturally Jordan and Jenna will go together as the heads, then that leaves... him. This cannot be happening"  
  
Hermione dared to glance at the prince of Slytherin who judging by the look on his face had reached the same conclusion as herself.  
  
"Why me?" he groaned silently "why do I have to go with the bloody mudblood!"  
  
They were both ripped out of their troublesome thoughts by Jordan announcing the location of the prefect dorm.  
  
"Guys" Jenna added "your password is twilight whisper. Oh and Draco, Hermione please try to get along or at least try not to hex or kill each other"  
  
She said this as she saw the daggers glared between the two rivals. Jenna shook her head  
  
"See you Monday morning for timetables".  
  
The four prefects made their way to their new dorms which turned out to be a fair size, each having their own ensuite and balcony. The order of the rooms in the opinion of Draco and Hermione had been done purely to spite them. Draco's room was upstairs left, next was Hermione's. Padma's room was next, but the girls' rooms were separated by a landing that had a small sofa in the centre. Ernie's room was next to Padmas.  
  
A little while later, after unpacking Padma and Ernie were sitting in front of a fire talking whilst Hermione went straight to the small prefect library attached to their common room.  
  
"Typical mudblood, the library, this must be the height of your day" Draco drawled from the entrance.  
  
"Well you're here as well aren't you" Hermione retorted  
  
"I'm just looking around, not studying on the first day back. How pathetic can you get" He replied  
  
"Look Malfoy, why don't we just stay out of each others way. It will make the year a lot easier if I don't have to be around you all the time" Hermione stated  
  
"Fine!" Draco sneered "I don't want to be contaminated by you in any way possible" he finished viciously.  
  
With a look of disgust Draco stalked away leaving Hermione to her reading.  
  
Padma and Ernie, who were still in conversation, heard the little exchange between their fellow prefects and looked at each other  
  
"This is going to be a long year" Ernie sighed.


	3. chapter 3

A/N: Hiya people, I'm in a really good mood today because I went to a Red Hot Chili Peppers gig last night, which was amazing (Anthony kedis – what a god!!) So I still got a bit of a buzz from that. Anyway here's chapter 3.  
  
Chapter 3  
  
The next few weeks passed relatively quietly in general, insults were traded, points deducted – the usual, nothing drastic though. They were now into October, and planing the Halloween ball. The theme chosen was fairy- tale, and have muggle music. The plans were decided with a minimum of fuss and arguments, the only problem seemed to be the continuing hatred between the Slytherin and Gryffindor prefects; the incessant bickering and constant glares were becoming more noticeable to the others. It became a joke to the heads and the other prefects that Hermione and Draco secretly fancied each other or had permanent lover's tiffs. Of course neither Draco nor Hermione knew about this.  
  
"Hi guys" Jordan said as he and Jenna walked into the prefect's common room.  
  
"Are the lovebirds here?" Jenna asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.  
  
"No, don't know where they are" Padma answered.  
  
They chatted for a while, then Ernie piped up "I've been thinking, do you think it's a good idea from them to be going to the ball together?"  
  
"Yeah" Padma replied and looked at Ernie "maybe we should swap"  
  
"God no" Jordan almost shouted as the others looked at him. "It would be good for them...and provide amusement for us" he added with a cheeky grin.  
  
"Okay" Ernie replied uncertainly.  
  
At that moment they heard the people in question approach  
  
"Out of the way mudblood" Draco growled  
  
"Sod off ferret, I was here first" Hermione replied angrily  
  
"Don't you dare speak to me like that, I'm a pureblood you piece of filth" came the retort  
  
"I'll speak to you however I want asshole" she countered.  
  
The other four people inside the common room stared at the painting waiting to see what would happen next or if it would have to be broken up.  
  
"Their back" Padma sighed  
  
"And on top form by the sounds of it" Ernie added, whilst the head observed the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff prefects commentating on their fellow classmates. Back outside the argument was still going strong ten minutes later  
  
"I'm warning you" Draco seethed as his eyes narrowed into slits "shut the hell up"  
  
"Why Malfoy, can't take it" Hermione shot "what are you going to do, run to daddy" she continued with an equally vicious glare  
  
"You have no idea who you're dealing with, MUDBLOOD"  
  
"Neither do you FERRET"  
  
At this point inside the common room Jenna had become quite anxious and decided to stop them before they did something stupid  
  
"Okay, enough" she demanded  
  
Draco and Hermione continued to glare at each other until Draco huffed and barged Hermione out of the way and stalked into the common room. Hermione clenched her fists and took a deep breath, she shook her head and Jenna asked her if she was ok.  
  
"Yes, I'm fine and sorry about that" Hermione replied before walking rather quickly to her room. 


	4. chapter 4

* * *

Chapter 4  
  
Later that evening Hermione was having trouble concentrating on her work. She kept replaying the earlier encounter in her mind.  
  
"Why do I let him get to me" she screamed in her head  
  
In the room next to hers Draco was having the same thoughts, but added to those thoughts were  
  
"Why did I even say those things? I sound like Lucius!"  
  
After a while they both gave up on their thoughts and went to bed.

* * *

The next day Hermione and Draco avoided each other to the point of not even insulting. As Hermione was leaving her last class she walked around a corner only to be bowled over by a very annoyed Pansy Parkinson.  
  
"Argh, stupid mudblood" Pansy yelled  
  
"What!" Hermione retorted "you ran in to me"  
  
Pansy looked at he in disgust before spitting out  
  
"You think you are so much better than everyone else miss know- it- all. Well you're not; you are a worthless piece of filth. Just because you hang around with Dumbledores pet doesn't give you any more right to be here"  
  
"Is that the best you can do?" Hermione attacked her "just grow up"  
  
Pansy laughed at her "you think they are your friends? Oh you do? Aww" Pansy started again "Potter and Weasley just felt sorry for you, then kept you around as a waking dictionary"  
  
The group Slytherins following Pansy all laughed. Hermione felt the sting of tears threaten to fall.  
  
"Aww, are you going to cry?" Pansy taunted.  
  
Luckily at that moment Harry and Ron rounded the corner, witnessing this last taunt.  
  
"Bugger off Pansy" Ron hissed "haven't you got someone to stalk or something?"  
  
Pansy glared at them and left, as Harry asked Hermione if she was OK, she affirmed that she was, secretly hoping that they wouldn't notice the amount effort she was using to control herself. They looked suspiciously at her at first, then left it when she said that she had to go to a meeting. With that she left them and hurried back to the prefect's common room. When she got there it was deserted so she sat on a sofa and stared into the fire. The tears that had been threatening started to fall, no matter how hard Hermione tried to stop them. Her head was swimming with thoughts of what she had done to deserve all this, and why it affected her so much. Whilst in her thoughts the door to the common room slipped open. Hermione heard footsteps behind her the first thing she thought was  
  
"Please don't let it be Malfoy"  
  
As Draco walked into the common room walked into the common room he saw a figure curled up on the sofa, the figure appeared to be crying. He recognised the figure to be Hermione and automatically insulted her.  
  
"What's wrong with you, finally realised you shouldn't be here?"  
  
Upon hearing this Hermione inwardly groaned, why him of all people.  
  
"Just leave me alone" she spat  
  
"Ooh, did I hit a nerve mudblood" he taunted  
  
"Malfoy, for once in your pathetic life shut up and leave me be" she yelled back, staring into his stormy grey eyes.  
  
Draco gaped at her; she held so much hate in her usually soft eyes it took him aback. This puzzled him, he always spoke to her like that, but she'd never looked at him in that way before, he might have well have been the dark lord himself for the look currently being sent in his direction. Hermione had enough, she ran to her room in even more of a state, silently cursing Draco and his ability to make her feel that much worse. Draco mentally slapped himself as he made his way to his own room  
  
"Good going idiot!"

* * *

Draco reached his room, sat at his desk and stared out of the glass doors leading to the balcony. As he did this his mind wandered back to the scene that had just unfolded in the common room. He wondered what had happened to Hermione to make her react in that way. Draco also thought about the impact that Hermiones glare had on him. Usually she made him angry, livid even but any glares were shrugged off, but lately he'd been noticing the amount of nasty glares he received from other students especially the Gryffindors. There was a well-known rivalry between the Slytherins and Gryffindors despite many attempts at inter- house unity.  
  
Yes he hated Gryffindors, but for what reasons? Their ability to get away with everything, especially the Golden trio, the amount of half bloods/ muggleborns in the house or that they always managed to come out on top. There wasn't really one specific reason. Draco hated to admit it but part of his immense dislike of the Gryffindors was jealousy, not that he'd admit it, but the other part was what? His fathers ideals.  
  
Whilst pondering this Draco thought back on his years at Hogwarts, he was in his sixth year and realised he didn't really know any Gryffindors apart from what he saw in class or heard. He also found he knew little of the reasons behind many of the praises and successes of Gryffindor.  
  
Draco thought about his life in and out of Hogwarts. He had many friends in Slytherin but often wasn't sure whether this was due to the social standing of his parents. Draco had been thinking for sometime now that he didn't really want to follow the path expected of him. He didn't want to worship the dark lord, a being who wasn't even pureblood! On the other hand neither was he going to fall all over Saint Potter, which a lot of people did. During this little epiphany of his, Draco decided he wasn't going to receive the dark mark. But not hating everyone, going against everything he'd had ever been taught, all that had been drummed in to him since birth, that was going to take time... and effort.  
  
"Why does everything have to be so screwed up!!"  
  
He meant to scream this in his head but it flew out of his mouth, and very loudly.  
  
"shit!" he exclaimed

* * *

Meanwhile Hermione sat on her bed in her own room contemplating her own life and situation.  
  
"Why is the world against me?" she thought  
  
Hermione thought about her recent run- ins with Pansy and Draco, it seemed as if they were out to tear her apart. Then there was the small problem of having to be around Draco all the time and go to the ball with him. She also found herself wondering why Draco especially hated her so much, there were other muggleborns in their year but she always had the most trouble. Hermione hated being constantly teased for being studious and intelligent even by the teachers – as Professor Snape liked to point out 'do you take pride in being an insufferable know- it- all?'  
  
Although she had plenty of friends in Gryffindor, people such as Pansy sometimes made her feel like she really was only known because Harry and Ron took pity on her in first year.  
  
"Why does everything have to be so screwed up?" She accidentally shouted this aloud, but it seemed to be magnified.  
  
At the same time Draco and Hermione looked outside their doors due to the unnaturally loud vocals expressed. They looked at each other and for one brief moment their eyes locked, their faces wore mirrored expressions of weariness with a hint of sadness. For that brief moment they gave each other a resigned half- smile before shaking their heads in confusion. Both Draco and Hermione went back into their rooms wondering why they had just done that. The two prefects were equally baffled by their actions yet felt oddly comforted that someone else, even a supposed enemy knew what they were going through.

A/N: That was longer than I thought. What do you think, should I keep going?


	5. chapter 5

Chapter 5  
  
An hour or two later Hermione felt like she needed to get out of her room, she thought about the prefect library but decided against that, didn't fancy another run- in with Draco. She decided on the main library where she could hide at the back.  
  
When she arrived there it was quiet with only a handful of students, Hermione settled herself at the back and began researching for a potions essay due in a few weeks.  
  
At this point Draco also found himself at a loose end. He decided to go for a walk around the castle to try and clear his head, or at least put things in perspective. Draco didn't want to go to the Slytherin common room as all that seemed to await him there were Pansy (he shuddered at the thought) or his supposed friends Crabbe and Goyle. After about fifteen minutes of aimless wandering Draco found himself staring out over the grounds from an outside passageway when a voice interrupted his thoughts  
  
"Hey Draco, how's it going?"  
  
The voice belonged to Blaise Zabini, also out in an attempt to clear his head. Draco looked at his friend  
  
"Honestly, I have no idea at the moment" Draco replied  
  
Blaise smiled sympathetically  
  
"What about you?" Draco asked  
  
"In truth, I don't know either. I mean lately I've been kind of questioning all we've been brought up to believe" Blaise replied  
  
Draco raised an eyebrow at this, unsure of what to make of the revelation, was Blaise in the same boat as himself? Blaise noticed the look on Draco's face and a look of anxiousness spread across his own face.  
  
Blaise mentally kicked himself for saying that, although Draco and him were best mates, Draco was still Lucius Malfoy's son. Draco noticed the look on his friend's face and put his mind to rest, sort of.  
  
"I know what you mean" Draco finally sighed as Blaise's face relaxed.  
  
"I know this sounds weird but I kind of feel like I don't know who I am anymore" Blaise said with a hint of confusion  
  
"So you don't want to carry on the family tradition either?" Draco inquired  
  
"Uh, no way" came the firm reply.  
  
The two boys looked at each other, both were unsure of what to do next as they discussed their predicament. They couldn't just change overnight, they were two of the most prominent Slytherins, the reaction from their house would be unimaginable.  
  
"This isn't going to be easy" Blaise said  
  
"I know" Draco replied "it's going to be hard to erase all the hatred, I've never known how to be anything else to most of this school" Draco sighed  
  
"Same here, it's going to take a lot of time and effort not to be like we are. Even though most of the time we probably don't want to act like this, its natural to us now. Its how we've been brought up. How can we go against that?" Blaise asked  
  
"No idea" Draco replied "but at least we can talk to each other about this"  
  
"Yeah, do think there's any remote chance of people believing we can change, or at least giving us the chance?" Blaise asked as he looked out over the grounds  
  
"I hope so" Draco said with resign "anyway we've been here ages. I have a ton of work to do, I'll catch you later" he finished  
  
"Okay, I'm heading back to the common room, no doubt Pansy is still regaling people with her story of her latest encounter with Granger" Blaise exasperated.  
  
"What?" Draco's attention suddenly piqued  
  
"Oh, you didn't hear? They ran into each other earlier, apparently, Pansy really laid into her. I heard some Ravenclaws talking about it, sounded quite brutal. Parkinson can be such a bitch. Anyway better go" Blaise finished  
  
With that he lest, leaving Draco to think about what he'd just said. It dawned on Draco that Hermione had been upset earlier because of Pansy then he'd gone and made it ten times worse.  
  
"Christ I'm an idiot!" he mentally chided.  
  
As Draco walked back through the corridors he felt the temperature drop. It became unusually cold; it was always cold in October but not like this. Draco mused that they must be in for a big storm. He decided to catch up on some reading as he a couple of essays due in the next few weeks. He thought about the prefect library but decided against that as Hermione was probably there and he didn't want another confrontation, he had too much on his mind. With that he headed to the main library. 


	6. chapter 6

Chapter 6.  
  
Hermione had been reading or trying to read for the past hour or so, she'd found it hard as there were so many things on here mind. She had got some work done but not as much as she'd hoped. Through all this Hermione had lost track of time and had fallen asleep on her desk.

* * *

Draco reached the library and found it silent, it was nearing curfew and there were rarely many students there at that time. He made his way to the back picking up a few books on the way. When he got to the back Draco looked around and his breath caught in his chest, he saw Hermione asleep and thought she looked so peaceful and innocent. Draco watched her sleep for a while. Seeing her like that made him think of all the teasing and basically the hell he'd put her through and felt guilty.  
  
Guilt, he laughed at himself, a Malfoy never feels guilt, if his father knew this he'd be disowned or worse, killed. Draco was shaken out of his thoughts as Hermione stirred slightly. He moved away from her to a nearby window and gazed out at the thick grey clouds already formed, covering what would be a starlit sky.

* * *

Hermione awoke from her nap and rubbed her eyes, she silently reprimanded herself for falling asleep and turned her head to see if anyone else was around, she knew it must be late and near closing time. As Hermione scanned the area her eyes fell upon someone staring out of a window, the boy gave a sigh signalling that he was in deep thought. She observed him sitting on a windowsill leaning his head back against the wall. Hermione decided against moving incase he saw her and she wasn't in the mood for a fight. Silently she resumed her reading while he continued to stare out of the window.  
  
A few minutes later Hermione dared to glance over at Draco only to find that he had fallen asleep. Once again she observed him and to her immense surprise her heart skipped a beat, he looked like an angel or something  
  
"Yeah, a hells angel!" said a voice in the back of her mind  
  
His face was relaxed and serene, Hermione realised that when Draco's face was devoid of his trademark sneer or scowl he was quite good looking... who was she kidding, he was gorgeous. In her mind was reeling the thought of 'how can someone so cold and cruel look so angelic?' Her mind wandered and once again she fell asleep.

* * *

A few hours later the two awoke to loud thunder rumbles that were getting closer. The librarian, madam Pince had locked the library without checking the back so missed the sleeping students.  
  
Hermione awoke with a fright to a loud clap of thunder, usually she wasn't too bothered by thunderstorms but this time she was, it was unusually cold, the rain was pounding down outside and a forceful wind was blowing. She looked around taking in her surroundings, she then realised that she must have fallen asleep again and been locked in. Another thunder- clap sounded and a bolt of lightening flashed through the windows. Hermione let out a small scream and fell off her chair.  
  
Hearing the scream, Draco woke with a start, storms didn't bother him infact he marvelled at their beauty. He wondered for a moment where he was before realising he must have fallen asleep in the library and been locked in.  
  
The storm was getting closer and a sudden bolt of lightening caused Hermione to let out another squeak. Silently she cursed herself for being such a coward especially when she saw Draco look over at her.  
  
It was dark in the library, but their eyes soon got used to it. They knew it was each other, as they had been the only two at the back before closing.  
  
"What's this" Draco drawled before he could stop himself "a Gryffindor, part of the golden trio no less, afraid of a thunderstorm?"  
  
Hermione, who was now on the floor against a bookshelf shaking, looked across at Draco. Why did he have to see her like this? Why always at a low point?  
  
"Malfoy don't" she said quietly "please"  
  
They looked at each other for a moment. Draco shook his head and started to walk away. As he did a strong gust of wind blew through the castle making the windows rattle and shake. Hermione looked up scared, even Draco stopped suddenly and walked around. This was followed by a deafening clap of thunder and bright flashes of lightening, the storm was upon them and there to stay. This caused Hermione to shake even more with a mixture of cold and fear, she didn't fancy walking back to the prefect's dorm in this and she certainly did not want to be left alone.  
  
Draco looked at her and felt sorry for her, a voice in the back of his head was telling him he should talk to her, calm her down. But the louder voice was the one telling him to act how he'd always done, even if now was the perfect time to show someone he wanted to change. In truth he didn't relish the thought of having to walk back to the prefects dorm in the storm, who knows what was prowling the corridors, but he wasn't about to show any sign of weakness. Draco started to walk away again but a voice stopped him  
  
"Malfoy, don't leave" Hermione said shakily  
  
"What?" he asked  
  
"I know this gives you license to make my life more of a hell than you already do for the rest of our school years, but please if you have any compassion at all, please stay, don't leave me alone" she replied quietly  
  
A/N: another chapter done, please review if you can. Thanx! 


	7. chapter 7

* * *

Chapter 7:  
  
Draco looked at her pleading face and was shocked, as was Hermione for actually saying it. Draco thought for a second before answering, should he leave and be the cold Slytherin or stay.  
  
"Okay" he said softly.  
  
This act took both of them by surprise, Draco went and sat near Hermione but leaving a clear gap. As he sat Hermione could smell his cologne, it was obviously designer and very expensive and as much as she hated to admit it, smelt gorgeous and surprisingly comforting. Hermione was still shaking but managed to conjure two blankets, she handed one to Draco who took it hesitantly and mumbled a small thanks. Soon they fell asleep feeling an odd comfort and excitement that confused them both.

* * *

Luckily the next day was a Saturday, which meant that a lot of students didn't get up early. Hermione and Draco were both awake before the library opened. The storm had stopped although it was still raining and judging by the quietness it was still early. Neither knew what to say they were unsure and confused. They held the same thought; ignore it and it will go away! Draco broke the awkward silence  
  
"No one knows about this, got it" he stated forcefully  
  
"Yeah" Hermione replied  
  
With that they left for the common room not saying a word. On the way back Draco thought about the tone he had used earlier, he was finding it hard not to be the obnoxious Slytherin even though he wanted to stop. Hermione was trying to sort out her thoughts in general, why did he stay last night? What changed this morning? Why was she even thinking about him! Hermione closed her eyes and shook her head to clear the fog forming in her mind.

* * *

For the rest of the day they ignored each other communication wise, but found themselves sneaking glances at each other if they passed. Hermione spent the day with Harry and Ron whilst Draco spent the day with Blaise, who seemed a lot more clear on how he wanted to act.  
  
"So you're just going to act completely different?" Draco asked incredulously  
  
"Yeah, I thought about it and decided I don't care anymore" Blaise replied honestly  
  
"But overnight? Bit soon isn't it"  
  
"I suppose you're right, but I'm definitely changing soon!"  
  
Draco smiled and shook his head at his friend; he admired his courage and determination for changing so quickly.

* * *

The Halloween ball was a week and a half away so the next weekend was to be a Hogsmead weekend. The castle was full of chatter about costumes and things people were going to get, and of course the all important whose going with who!  
  
The next few days passed quickly and quietly the heads and the other prefects noticed. Most were staring to get excited about the upcoming event. Draco and Hermione however were still trying to ignore the fact they had to go together.  
  
"Hermione, can I ask you something?" Harry inquired as they walked to lunch  
  
"Sure Harry" came the reply  
  
"Do you think that Ron will go nuts if I ask Ginny to the ball?"  
  
"Uh lets see, his best friend wants to take his little sister on a date, he may be slightly annoyed"  
  
"Oh, yeah okay" Harry sounded disheartened  
  
"Look Harry, I know how much you like Ginny. If you explain this to Ron he may not be too bad...hopefully. You could always say better you than someone he doesn't know"  
  
"Thanks Hermione, what would I do without you?"  
  
"Probably get yourself killed" Hermione joked.

* * *

Friday night had arrived; all the students were entering the great hall for dinner and discussing their plans for Hogsmead the next day. Both Hermione and Draco were tense as they would have to speak to each other tonight about costumes and decoration.  
  
"Hi guys" Lavender said as she sat at the Gryffindor table, ever the one to gossip she announced that she was going to the ball with Ron and demanded to know whom everyone else was going with.  
  
"I'm going with Harry" Ginny said proudly  
  
"How'd Ron act when he found out?" Parvarti asked  
  
"Pretty calmly actually. I suspect you had something to do with that" Ginny replied casting a grateful glance at Hermione  
  
"I Gave Harry some pointers" Hermione admitted  
  
"So" Lavender butted in "who are you two going with?"  
  
Meaning Hermione and Parvarti.  
  
"Well" Parvarti started "don't hate me or anything but there's this guy I've got to know and he's not what I thought he'd be..."  
  
"Just spit it out" Lavender said impatiently  
  
"Blaise Zabini" Parvarti said waiting for the fireworks to start, but surprisingly none came.  
  
"He is pretty fit" Lavender conceded  
  
"He doesn't seem like the others, he's changed somehow" Ginny said glancing over at the Slytherin table  
  
"Yeah, I mean yesterday I ran into him and dropped my books everywhere" Hermione said "I braced myself for the usual round of verbal abuse, but nothing. Instead he apologised picked up my books and asked if I was OK"  
  
"So you guys are OK with this" Parvarti said with a smile  
  
"Yep" they all agreed  
  
"So Mione, what about you?" Lavender pushed  
  
"Malfoy" Hermione said whilst putting her head in her hands  
  
"What!" they all said in unison  
  
"You're joking right?" Ginny asked  
  
"No, and may I just point out, this was so not my choice." Hermione said in exasperation "It's a prefect thing, Ernie and Padma are going together which leaves me and..."  
  
"The king of assholes" Ginny finished for her  
  
"Exactly"  
  
"Nasty, well at least he's a hottie" Lavender commented  
  
The other girls looked at her with raised eyebrows.  
  
"Well he is. He may be a prized imbecile, but look at him" She stated  
  
They glanced over to the Slytherin table and all but Hermione nodded their heads in agreement, Draco Malfoy is one of the most infuriating, arrogant people around but they couldn't deny that he wasn't good looking. Hermione silently agreed with them, but wasn't going to admit it because who knows what kind of rumour that would spark.  
  
Meanwhile at the Slytherin table Draco was having the same conversation with Blaise whilst trying not to be disgusted by Crabbe and Goyle who still didn't know the meaning of chew with your mouth closed! Draco was shocked at Blaises date but happy for him at the same time that Blaise was doing what they both wanted.  
  
"So what about you?" Blaise asked "who is the ice- prince of Slytherin taking?" he finished mockingly  
  
"Am I really called that?" Draco asked, partly out of curiosity and partly to change the subject.  
  
"Ooh yeah, you're really called that and others, and don't change the subject. Who is it?"  
  
"Hmph, fine...Granger" Draco answered quietly  
  
Blaise looked at his friend in amusement. This was too good to be true; Draco Malfoy – Slytherin bad- ass and Hermione Granger – Gryffindor princess. Draco caught the look in his eye  
  
"No bloody way was this my idea" Draco stated as Blaise continued to be amused "it's a prefect thing"  
  
"Oh this should go down well" Blaise said sarcastically regarding their situation. Two of the supposed most noted Slytherins going to the Halloween ball with Gryffindors, and not just any Gryffindors – Hermione Granger (mudblood extrodinaire as Slytherin called her).  
  
"This is going to be hell" Draco sighed as he banged his head down on the table.  
  
A/N: Another chapter done, please tell me what you think. Thanks to dracoisahottie13 for reviewing again, you're great! 


	8. chapter 8

A/N: Hi, thanks to my reviewers, you light up my life! Here's the next chapter.  
  
Chapter 8  
  
After dinner everyone made their way back to their common rooms. As the prefects reached theirs they found the Jordan and Jenna waiting for them to discuss final plans for the ball, which were quickly decided.  
  
Later that evening Hermione decided that she had to see Draco about their costumes. She found him in the prefect library, although he looked relaxed she felt somewhat intimidated by him.  
  
"Uh, Malfoy" she said tentatively  
  
"Yeah" he answered softly not realising who it was  
  
He looked up and his familiar scowl returned as he noticed Hermione looking at him strangely.  
  
"What?" he repeated impatiently  
  
"Well there goes civil Malfoy" she thought  
  
"I wanted to ask about costumes, what are you wearing?"  
  
"Haven't decided" he replied nonchalantly  
  
Hermione took a deep breath  
  
"OK, I was thinking of going as a fairy, so if you went as a prince, that pretty much goes with everything"  
  
"Whatever" he shot  
  
Hermione walked out of the library wondering why Draco couldn't be civil for two minutes around her, he managed around the others. While Draco was wondering why she annoyed him so much, even though she did nothing to him.  
  
The Hogsmead trip went smoothly and the next week passed quickly, especially for those eagerly awaiting the ball, too quickly for Hermione and Draco.

* * *

The night of the ball finally arrived, everything was set and all that was needed were the students. Hermione was asked to get ready with the Gryffindor girls but declined and opted to get ready with Padma as the prefects had to go together. After about an hour Padma looked at Hermione and was stunned, she looked amazing. Her hair was wavy with delicate flowers weaved at intervals, her costume consisted of a short jagged- cut floaty skirt that was various shades of purple with a tight- fit, spaghetti strap lilac top. To finish it Hermione had shimmering silver wings and silver heeled shoes. Padma was dressed as Princess Jasmin from the movie Aladdin and also looked beautiful.  
  
Ernie and Draco, who were waiting downstairs, were dumbstruck when they saw them. Draco had to do a double take; Hermione looked like an angel. Draco looked incredibly sexy as a prince (A/N: I'll leave that to your imagination!) which made Hermione force herself to breathe. Whilst the two supposed enemies continued to stare at each other Jordan and Jenna entered the common room. The four bystanders watched in amusement as Draco offered his arm to Hermione.  
  
"Let's go then" said Jordan, breaking the mood  
  
As they got to the hall Draco regained himself, sort of.  
  
"We only have to enter with each other, right?"  
  
"And one or two dances" Jenna said with a smile  
  
The two looked uneasy at this. Their entrance was noted by a lot of students who were surprised and Hermione and Draco there together and not arguing, but also at how good they looked together.  
  
Ginny and Lavender rushed up to Hermione telling her how great she looked whilst Harry and Ron stared in awe  
  
"Uh...um...er...Hermione?" Ron stuttered  
  
"You look great" Harry said compensating for Ron's apparent lack of brain function.  
  
Hermione thanked them as they shot evil glares at Draco, who was receiving many glances himself. Ron regained himself and warned Draco about doing anything to Hermione, he just smirked in response.  
  
Pansy made her dislike of the pairing known by moaning about how it was so wrong that Draco had to be there with a mudblood. Luckily Blaise intercepted before Pansy could start on a rant about Hermione, for which Draco was grateful.

* * *

The next hour progressed smoothly with Draco and Hermione dancing and talking with their own friends and avoiding each other. Lavender just had to mention how gorgeous Draco looked Parvarti and Ginny agreed.  
  
"Don't you have to dance with him" Parvarti asked "I'm sure Padma said something about it.  
  
"Don't remind me" Hermione sighed  
  
"I wouldn't mind" Ginny said with amusement "don't get me wrong, Harry's the one I want, but Malfoy has that whole dark, bad- boy thing"  
  
"Oh yeah" Lavender agreed dreamily  
  
Meanwhile on the other side of the hall, Blaise was commenting on how good Hermione looked, to which Draco had to agree. The two boys walked on to the dance floor because Blaise wanted to dance with parvarti, Draco was jumped by Pansy who insisted that he had to dance with her. The two groups ended up dancing quite close which made it hard for Hermione and Draco to ignore each other. Trying to convince themselves they hated each other was not working too well.

* * *

A slower song came on and Pansy practically glued herself to Draco who wasn't impressed. He looked over to see Hermione dancing with Harry, Draco felt a surge of jealousy  
  
"Where the hell did that come from" he thought  
  
Just as Draco looked away Hermione glanced over at him and part of her wished she was Pansy at that moment.  
  
She mentally scolded herself for thinking such thoughts, this was Malfoy! The song finished and they went to leave the dancefloor, as they walked Hermione and Draco found themselves next to each other, neither dared look.  
  
The next moment as Harry went to find Ginny a loud rumbling noise was heard, everyone looked around as a bolt of lightening flashed across the window. A few girls screamed, but they were comforted by their partners. Hermione however, was on her own, she took a deep breath and tried to tell herself it was nothing but a freak clap, Draco noticed the look on Hermiones face as he had seen it before.  
  
The next thing they knew a strong gust of wind accompanied by more thunder and lightening blew through the castle knocking out the lights. More screams were heard and Hermione whimpered quietly, why now? As she thought this she felt herself pulled into a strong embrace. The person put one arm around her waist, pulling her into a strong chest whilst the other hand stroked her hair and gently brushed her face as he whispered softly  
  
"Its OK, you're safe"  
  
Hermione felt a rush of excitement flow through her, she also felt safe with this person. It suddenly dawned on her that, she knew the scent accompanying the embrace, it was the same as that night in the library.  
  
"It can't be, no way would Malfoy do this willingly" she thought  
  
Draco had seen the look on Hermiones face and remembered that she didn't like thunderstorms and felt strangely pulled to comfort her. He managed to restrain himself until the lights went out and he heard her small whimper.  
  
"What am I doing? This is not good, get a grip!" he thought  
  
But a voice in the back of his mind, which sounded remarkably like Blaise, was telling him this was what he wanted, he didn't hate her. So he moved over slightly and pulled her into him, he was surprised at how good it felt to hold her.

* * *

In the blink of an eye it was over, soft amber lighting dimly illuminated the room and everybody ooh'd and ahh'd thinking it was a Halloween joke. Draco released Hermione and moved away quickly as the light travelled across the room leaving her wondering if it really happened. She shook her head and went to get a drink, but Jenna stopped her  
  
"You're gonna have to dance with him" she said softly  
  
"I know" Hermione replied  
  
"Come on next song is about to start" Jenna told her  
  
"What, now?"  
  
"Yes!"  
  
Jordan had cornered Draco in much the same way, so the two were brought together as many couples filled the floor to dance to the slower song starting.

_You look into my eyes I go out of my mind  
  
I can't see anything  
  
Coz this love's got me blind _

_I can't help myself _

_I can't break this spell_

_ I can't even try  
_

As the song started the both thought 'bloody marvellous', this was way too inappropriate for them to be dancing to.  
  
"I can't dance with her to this" Draco thought  
  
"OK breathe Hermione, it's Malfoy" she thought "that being the problem" she groaned inwardly  
  
The problem was neither could control the feelings that seemed to ignite when they were near each other; confusion, excitement, anxiety, attraction. That last word being the most annoying issue. They were attracted to the person they shouldn't be anywhere near!  
  
The two looked at each other for a moment before noticing Jordan and Jenna glaring at them. As the music continued Draco stepped infront of Hermione and offered his hand.  
  
"Here we go" she thought as she accepted  
  
"Merlin help me" Draco sighed

_I'm in over my head _

_You got under my skin_

_ I got no strength at all_

_ In the state that I'm in_

_ And my knees are weak  
  
And my mouth can't speak  
  
Fell too far this time  
_

Draco put his arm around Hermiones waist and his other hand in hers, whilst her free arm was on his shoulder. Both were too scared to look into the others eyes. They swayed to the music but were a distance apart, getting cosy was out of the question if they wanted to retain some self-control...

_Coz I'm slipping away _

_Like the sand to the tide_

_ Flowing into your arms_

_ Falling into your eyes_

_ If you get too near _

_I might disappear _

_I might lose my mind  
_

Or was until a passing couple knocked into Hermione causing her to almost fall into Draco making her arms go gently around his neck, he instinctively put both arms around her waist to steady her. Hermione felt her heart beat faster at their change of situation, again he had to force herself to concentrate. The hold felt somewhat familiar, and that designer cologne, it struck her hard that it was Draco earlier which sent her head into even more of a spin.  
  
Meanwhile Draco was also having trouble keeping a clear head, it was the second time that night he had been in this position, it was one he could easily have stayed in, he felt the familiar rush of excitement, and skipping heart beats. Hermione then made the fatal mistake of looking up into Dracos mesmerising silver eyes forcing him to stare down into her deep chocolate- brown ones. The rest of the world seemed to vanish in a haze.

_Baby I'm too lost in you _

_Caught in you _

_Lost in everything about you _

_So deep I can't sleep _

_I can't think _

_I just think about the things that you do  
  
I'm too lost in you  
_

Various students secretly watched while whispering about the two enemies who seemed in a trance. The song ended leaving both Hermione and Draco breathless, they immediately they go of each other and felt a sudden loss.

* * *

"That was intense" said Ginny as Hermione walked over to her  
  
"Know what, I'm gonna go. It's almost over, I'll see you tomorrow" Hermione said, confusion written all over her face  
  
"Why is she going?" Lavender asked Ginny as Hermione was leaving "we've still got another hour"  
  
Ginny just shrugged  
  
"That dance" Lavender continued "with her and Malfoy, wow"  
  
"I know" Ginny agreed.

* * *

When Hermione reached the common room she went over to the fire and sank in to a soft chair and put her head in her hands, what was she going to do?  
  
A few minutes later she heard the portrait door swing open, she looked over and saw Draco looking just as confused as her. Their eyes locked for a second, and for once Draco's face didn't hold the venomous look he usually gives her, they both looked away and he continued to his room, Hermione followed suit and also went to bed. Both laid there thinking for a while with many questions buzzing in their heads, they finally fell asleep with a final exhausted question 'why me, why now?"  
  
A/N: WOW. That was long. Well there you have it, what do you think? The song (in Italics) is 'Too lost in you' by Sugarbabes.  
  
I 


	9. Chapter 9

* * *

A/N: Sorry it's taken a while, but here's chapter 9!  
  
Chapter 9  
  
The next morning Hermione walked down to the common room, where Padma and Ernie were talking, they looked up at her and said hi, but Ernie couldn't resist asking  
  
"Good night?"  
  
Hermione looked at him, aware of the inclination of his words.  
  
"It was OK" she said quietly not wanting to give any reason for gossip.  
  
With that she went to the Gryffindor common Room, she needed to speak to Ginny. When she got there a few people that were around chatting gave her a cautious glance wondering about the previous night, while others congratulated her on pulling a great Halloween stunt with the thunder. Ginny came down the stairs walked over to Hermione and sensed she wanted to talk, they decided to go outside since it wasn't raining. They found a bench and discussed the previous night  
  
"So, have you seen Malfoy this morning?" Ginny asked  
  
"No"  
  
"What happened between you two last night?" Ginny had been dying to know  
  
"Honestly, I don't know" Hermione replied  
  
"I know you felt something, I saw it on your face, and his"  
  
"I did feel something, don't know what it was though, probably just the situation, you know, dancing with the enemy and that"  
  
"Hmm. You didn't hear this from me OK?" Ginny started  
  
Hermione nodded and Ginny Continued "well you know Blaise and Parvarti are together now"  
  
Hermione was about to say something but Ginny cut her off  
  
"Well, this morning we were all up early and Parvarti said she was talking to Blaise and Malfoy came over to them and was actually nice to her. She said they had a really good conversation, she thinks he's changed as well, or at least is trying to"  
  
Hermione looked at Ginny quizzically deciding whether to tell her about the encounters she'd had with Draco.  
  
"I don't know what to think of him at the moment" Hermione sighed  
  
"What do you mean" Ginny asked with great interest  
  
Hermione proceeded to tell Ginny about the time in the library, the ball and how he can manage to be civil to the other prefects but not her. Ginny listened attentively before forming a conclusion  
  
"You two have a crush on each other and don't know how to handle it" she said with a cheeky grin  
  
"What! I do not have a crush on Malfoy" Hermione stated  
  
Whilst in her head was a voice saying Ginny was right, Hermione did have a bit of a crush on him and didn't want to admit it. Hermione became frustrated with the voice in her head  
  
"I refuse to have a crush on Draco Malfoy!"  
  
"So you do have a crush on him" Ginny smiled  
  
"What? Oh did I say that out loud?" Hermione groaned  
  
"This is too much" Ginny laughed "the Gryffindor Princess and the Slytherin Prince"  
  
"Oh shut up"

* * *

Meanwhile Draco and Blaise were out in the Quidditch stands talking, where no one would hear them.  
  
"So you haven't spoken to her yet" Blaise said to a tired looking Draco  
  
"No, what the hell am I supposed to say, sorry about the last five years and I think I fancy you, that'll go down well" Draco replied  
  
"I knew you had a thing for her"  
  
"Blaise" Draco warned  
  
"OK, I see your point though. You could try being nicer to her"  
  
"Tried and failed my friend. Every time I try to be nice, it comes out as an insult no matter what, she just infuriates me"  
  
"You mean, you can't think of things to say so you insult her, or you're scared of appearing weak infront of her" Blaise stated  
  
"No, well yeah, sort of" Draco mumbled "the insults happen on their own" he whined  
  
Blaise shook his head and laughed at his friend, which earned him a scowl. The ice- cool Draco Malfoy frazzled by a Gryffindor bookworm. Not that Blaise found anything wrong with Hermione, in fact he found her quite pleasant.  
  
"You seem to be doing OK with this new nice thing." Draco said  
  
"Yeah, and know what, I like it. People are actually starting to talk to me for me, not because of my name" Blaise admitted  
  
"You're lucky" Draco muttered  
  
"You'd be fine too if you gave people a chance, you got on with Parvarti this morning"  
  
"She's different"  
  
"No she's not, a lot of them are OK, even Potter and Weasley"  
  
"You spoke to them?" Draco asked wide- eyed  
  
"Yeah, after you left the ball. They were a bit off at first, which was understandable, but then they were fine, I had a laugh with them. How many times have we genuinely had a good time in Slytherin. The Gryffindors have a lot of fun"  
  
"Oh my God, your turning into one of them" Draco said with mock concern  
  
"Oh shut up, you should give them a chance"

* * *

Later that afternoon, Ginny, Parvarti and Lavender were gossiping in an abandoned classroom, they'd done this a few times as they could talk about anything with out being heard as not many students went that way. But this particular afternoon Draco and Blaise were once again trying to avoid the Slytherins, (especially those such as Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle who thought Blaise was a traitor and was getting to Draco) were walking along an unused corridor when they heard laughing, then someone saying to be quiet. They followed the noise and found the gossiping girls  
  
"Hey, what you up to?" Blaise asked Parvarti as he walked over and hugged her  
  
"Not much, gossiping mainly" she replied lightly  
  
Parvarti then noticed Draco hanging back, as if he wasn't sure about being there  
  
"Hey Draco"  
  
"Hi" he replied quietly  
  
This took the other two girls aback, they knew Parvarti had talked to Draco but didn't think he'd be nice to her infront of others.  
  
"You know Lavender and Ginny, right?" She continued  
  
Draco didn't really know what to do but thought, if he's going to change these would be the ones to show it to. So he smiled and nodded hesitantly at the two girls. They stared at him for a moment before Ginny said a small hello, to which he was relived about because he'd been a git about her family. Lavender eyed him a bit, then walked over to him and pulled him to where they were sitting  
  
"OK, what gossip do you know? Tell me everything" she squealed excitedly  
  
For the rest of the afternoon the five had a great time gossiping and generally talking, Draco was glad Blaise had told him to give them a chance, they really were a lot of fun  
  
"Are you guys always like this?" Draco asked as they made their way to dinner  
  
"This is nothing, you should hear it when the boys get going, talk about a riot" Ginny said.  
  
Draco smiled. Ginny observed him, he really had changed, not the spoiled brat from previous years, he'd grown up and she had to admit was easy on the eyes! They walked into the hall separately not to cause a scene.  
  
"Where have you been all afternoon?" Harry enquired  
  
"Gossiping" came the short reply.

* * *

Throughout dinner Hermione found herself stealing glances at Draco, she couldn't help it. Ever since Ginny had said about her having a crush on him she found it increasingly harder to remove him from her mind, and it was driving her crazy.  
  
Draco was also stealing glances at Hermione and wondering why it was s hard for him to be nice to her. He'd had a great time with her friends and found it surprisingly easy to get on with them, but he just couldn't control his mouth around her and it was annoying him.  
  
Occasionally their eyes would meet and they would look away quickly, Ginny and Blaise watched this with mild amusement. On their way out from dinner Ginny held back a bit, and discreetly signalled for Blaise to do the same.  
  
"You saw what I saw?" she half stated, half asked  
  
"Hell yeah, they got it bad" He joked  
  
"This should be interesting" Ginny mused  
  
"They'll never admit it to each other" Blaise sighed  
  
"You never know" said Ginny as the two walked their separate ways 


	10. chapter 10

A/N: Thanks to my reviewers again, you're the best!  
  
Chapter 10  
  
The next week passed, Hermione and Draco continued to ignore each other, which didn't go unnoticed by the other prefects and heads. They found it quiet and were glad of the peace, but were a bit concerned about the growing tension that seemed to surround the Slytherin and Gryffindor prefects. It always managed to work out that Hermione and Draco would be on separate patrols, this made it easier on them as neither knew what to say without starting an argument and they were still having issues about the ball.  
  
"So they still not talking" Blaise said to Ginny as they walked to the abandoned classroom two weeks later, the classroom had become a sort of common room for them, Parvarti, Lavender and Draco.  
  
"Nope. This is one they'll have to sort out on their own" Ginny replied  
  
The five had taken to meeting every so often to hang out, have a gossip and generally get on. The girls felt bad hiding it from Harry and Ron, who asked where they kept running off to. But they just told them it was girls stuff, so they steered clear. That was until one night they decided to follow them under Harry's invisibility cloak  
  
"I can't believe we're doing this" Harry whispered as they trailed far behind the girls down an abandoned corridor  
  
"I want to see where they go. I mean why do they have to come all the way down here for 'girls stuff'" Ron replied "unless they're doing other stuff" he added with a suggestive tone  
  
"You do realise that's your sister you're talking about" Harry commented  
  
Ron shuddered at the thought and mentally slapped himself for thinking it. As they got to the room, they got a huge shock seeing Draco and Blaise already there.  
  
"What the hell?" Ron whispered angrily  
  
"Yeah" Harry agreed "I can see why Blaise is there, but Malfoy?"  
  
"If he goes anywhere near them" Ron warned  
  
The two boys listened outside the room to the voices inside, and it wasn't what Harry and Ron expected. They were friendly, all of them, they talked as if they had been friends for ages. Rons temper got the better of him and he stormed into the room before Harry could stop him  
  
"What the hell is going on?"  
  
"Hi Ron" Ginny said whilst looking a little guilty  
  
"Guys, what is going on?" Harry demanded, a little more calmly than Ron did  
  
"We're just talking, hanging out" Lavender admitted  
  
"With Malfoy? No wonder you're down here" Ron yelled  
  
"Ron, that's enough" Ginny said as she walked over to her brother and Harry  
  
Ginny put her hand on Harry's arm and told him that Draco, like Blaise had changed, although both boys were sceptical at first and eyed Draco suspiciously, they soon came around and started having a good time without even realising it.

* * *

As the time drew on, they decided to go back to their dorms, Harry and Ron were still a bit unsure of the new Draco but were on orders from Ginny to give him a chance. As they were walking out of the room Harry asked what was going to happen in school hours, it was soon agreed they'd ignore each other for the most part, but still glare with the odd insult.  
  
"So, same time tomorrow?" Lavender asked  
  
"Can't, got a prefect meeting" Draco said  
  
"We got Quidditch practice" Ron added  
  
"OK, we'll have to do this again some other time" Lavender said as the Gryffindors walked one way and Draco and Blaise the other.  
  
On the way back to their common rooms Draco and Blaise quietly discussed what had just happened  
  
"I can't believe we just had a good time with Potter and Weasley" Draco stated "feels kinda weird"  
  
"I know, but in a good way. At least they talked to us for who we were, we got to be our selves" Blaise commented "but I have to admit, if someone had said in earlier years that we'd end up on good terms with the 'Golden Trio' I'd have thought them insane"  
  
Draco gave a small laugh "I don't know how you managed to get possibly the most popular Gryffindors to talk to you so quickly"  
  
"Just had to take a chance, they're talking to you as well"  
  
"That's where you are way ahead of me, they like you, they only tolerate me, not that I blame them, also all three members of the trio are talking to you" Draco admitted  
  
"The girls like you, the boys will take some time and Hermione, well it would help if you actually spoke to her!" Blaise commented as they went their separate ways.

* * *

The next day as they were all at breakfast, Harry looked around the room and saw Draco and Blaise sitting amongst the Slytherins. Blaise was getting hassle from quite a few for having a Gryffindor girlfriend and being nice to them and some of the Slytherins were starting to get a bit suspicious of Draco.  
  
"I feel sorry for them having to be over there, it can't be easy"  
  
Ron mumbled an agreement with a mouthful of food, whilst Ginny and Parvarti looked over to the Slytherin table.  
  
"Maybe we should help them out, throw a few insults today or something" Ginny offered  
  
"Yeah, good idea" Harry agreed  
  
So when breakfast had finished they all left the great hall for first class. Ginny had waited behind to tell Draco of the plan, which she quickly whispered as they walked out, pretending to glare at each other.  
  
"Watch it, Potter" Draco snapped as he walked into Harry  
  
"Sod off Malfoy" Ron replied  
  
The Slytherins behind Draco watched keenly to see what would happen next, usually these meetings could get quite nasty, and there hadn't been one for a while. Draco made to leave in a huff, but could see Parvarti and Blaise out of the corner of his eye secretly signalling him to carry on insulting  
  
"Ooh, got your Weasel boyfriend to stick up for you" Draco continued  
  
Truth be told the boys were enjoying, it although they preferred not to insult each other, people hanging on every glare not knowing it was fake proved amusing. Harry was about to retaliate when Hermione came down the corridor having heard all of it, she was unaware that it was staged and thought there hadn't been a scene of this scale for a while. Even though she had feelings for Draco, Hermione could not ignore the fact that he was tormenting her best friends.  
  
"Shut your mouth, ferret" Hermione shot, hating every moment  
  
"Look, Potter's even got a mudblood to fight for him. How pathetic" Draco spat  
  
His words stung both him and Hermione as well as shocking Blaise and Ginny. Draco felt guilty and wanted to end it there, this wasn't him anymore. Meanwhile the others wanted to end it, if it didn't stop now, it may get out of hand.  
  
"Come on guys, he's not worth it" Ginny said coming to the rescue after seeing the hurt in her friends eyes.  
  
As they turned to walk away relief swept through the former enemies, Draco made a small nod of thanks to Ginny, which went unnoticed by the eager onlookers.

* * *

The rest of the day progressed with a few glares and everyone ignoring each other but earlier events were heavy on their minds. The event led to the gang meeting in their room after dinner.  
  
"I'm so sorry" Draco said when they were all there  
  
"Us too" Ron replied  
  
"It worked though" Blaise commented  
  
They all talked for a while, until they had to leave for various reasons, leaving Draco, Blaise and Ginny in the room.  
  
"Oh well, I better go to the prefect meeting. This is going to be hell" Draco sighed  
  
"Talk to her" Blaise yelled after him  
  
"Today was harsh" Ginny said as they decided to leave a few minutes later  
  
"I know. I don't envy him, it must have been really hard for him" Blaise replied  
  
"And Hermione. You should have seen the pain in her eyes"  
  
"I hope they sort it out soon" Blaise said as the two parted  
  
Draco got to the common room feeling really apprehensive, he had to face Hermione and possibly speak to her. He felt terrible about what he'd said but did not know what to say to her without messing up.  
  
Inside the common room Hermione was having a similar problem, she didn't want to insult Draco earlier but it would have looked odd if she was there and remained quiet. Also he retaliated calling her a mudblood, he had not said that in a while and it hurt. Hell, they hadn't spoken since the ball (and that was a month ago) and tension was ever increasing.  
  
"Right, now that we're all here" Jordan said as the heads and senior prefects sat round a table in the prefect library "let's get down to business"  
  
"Dumbledore has decided to throw a ball on New Years Eve for anyone who wants to come" Jenna told everyone "He's organising it all, and its formal muggle dress"  
  
This elicited a few strange looks from the prefects  
  
"It should be interesting, and school ends in two and a half weeks " Jordan quipped  
  
"Also, there's a storm warning tonight so on your patrols just warn your houses, I don't know what's with this weather." Jenna said "Right that's all on the official side" continued casting a glance at Hermione and Draco, both of them knew what was coming "Hermione, Draco, I know you two..."  
  
Jordan cut her off, he didn't want to drag out the subject, the best way was to get it over with  
  
"Whatever the problem is sort it out, at least when you were arguing it made sense" he looked at the two students who were looking at the table and avoiding each other "Got It?" he asked expectantly  
  
"Yes" Hermione said quietly while Draco nodded  
  
"Good, well we'll all patrol tonight so we can be in before the storm, so go in pairs. You two together" Jordan finished motioning at Draco and Hermione  
  
They both nodded in acknowledgement, and proceeded to their patrol. Hermione thought about what had just been said, they couldn't talk without arguing and to make it worse another bloody storm. The thought crossed her mind that it could be another way to end up in his arms again, it felt so good. But no, at the moment she wasn't sure she wanted to speak to Draco again.  
  
Draco thought this patrol may be a good chance to talk to Hermione, apologise, just make polite small talk, anything. She must hate him for what he said, he hated himself for it.  
  
"You want to warn houses first?" Draco asked as they walked along a corridor  
  
"OK" Hermione mumbled  
  
They walked in silence as they went to the Slytherin dorms, Draco gave them the information and they then went to Gryffindor checking corridors as they went. When they got there Hermione went in and informed them of the warning. Whilst Hermione was inside Parvarti approached the painting  
  
"Hey Draco, what's up?"  
  
"Prefect duties, you?"  
  
"Just going to meet the gang, we decided to catch up coz Quidditch was cancelled. Want to come for a bit?"  
  
At that moment Hermione came out of the common room and looked at the two having a conversation. She knew they got on because of Blaise but didn't think they talked otherwise and where was she asking him to go.  
  
"Hi Hermione, we're going to meet the guys, want to come?" Parvarti said  
  
"What?" Hermione asked in confusion  
  
"Hang on, I've just got to put these books away and I'll be back" Parvarti continued  
  
Hermione was thoroughly confused. Draco took this opportunity before she found out her enemy and friends got on, to talk to her.  
  
"I'm sorry for my comment earlier" Draco said quickly  
  
"What? You are joking right?" Hermione said automatically then mentally slapped herself, what if he's being civil.  
  
"No, I..." Draco went to continue but Parvarti came back out.  
  
The three walked to the secret common room, where Hermione got a huge shock. Draco walked in after Parvarti because Hermione was trailing behind wondering what was going on. She couldn't believe her ears when she heard Harry's voice greeting Draco. When she entered the room Hermione was even more surprised to find Ginny, Ron and Lavender. She'd expected Blaise, but the others.  
  
"Hi Mione" Ron said tentatively

* * *

Hermione didn't know how to react, here was her best friends and her enemy (who she had a crush on) being friends with each other, weren't they fighting earlier? Hermione shook her head in confusion.  
  
"Uh Guys, what's going on?" She asked  
  
"We often meet here, we're friends now" Lavender said untactfully  
  
"Oh, well I'll leave you guys to it then" Hermione said angrily and walked out  
  
Ginny went after her  
  
"Mione wait"  
  
"Why, you're missing all the fun in there" Hermione snapped  
  
"Hold on, please listen" Ginny pleaded  
  
"Listen to what? When were you going to tell me, were you even going to tell me?"  
  
"I know you're angry but it just... happened"  
  
"Gin, my best friends have made friends with our supposed enemy, and no one told me, how am I supposed to feel?"  
  
With that Hermione stormed off with Ginny calling her. Ginny went back inside and told the others that Hermione didn't take it too well, which confused all of them except Ginny, Blaise and Draco. Blaise told the others that it was just a shock and that's why she reacted that way, they seemed to buy it. Draco once again felt guilty, it was pretty much his fault for the arguments between the friends. He decided he'd better find her and continue the patrol as it was getting late, at the same time the others decided to go back to their common rooms.

* * *

Hermione hadn't found anyone out after hours so far, she stood in a deserted corridor and leant against a wall. Thoughts ran through her head, about Draco, her friends and her own feelings, which were unfathomable at the moment. Just as luck would have it, the one person sneaking around at night, wandered around a corner, into the corridor Hermione was in, that person happened to be Pansy.  
  
"Well mudblood, we meet again" Pansy shot  
  
Not now, thought Hermione as she looked at the particularly nasty Slytherin. Noticing the look on Hermiones face, Pansy took the opportunity to hurl abuse at the Worn- out Gryffindor, even if she was head girl.  
  
"Finally realised you've got no friends and taken to wandering the corridors alone. Even the ghosts can't stand the sight of you"  
  
"Bugger off Pansy, before I take points off you"  
  
With the run in Hermione just had comments like that hit home hard and fast but she willed herself not to show she was upset. This was unsuccessful as her face showed a different story  
  
"Aw is the mudblood going to cry again, why don't you do everyone a favour, get lost in that storm tonight" Pansy hissed  
  
At that point Draco came around the corner and heard that last insult  
  
"Parkinson, what the bloody hell are you up to?" He yelled  
  
"Just having some fun Draco" She purred back (or tried to)  
  
"It's out of hours, get back to the common room"  
  
"But Draaaacccoo"  
  
"Unless you want points taken off" Draco stated firmly  
  
"You're sticking up for that?" Pansy motioned to Hermione who was now sitting on the floor with her head in her hands.  
  
"GO NOW" He said firmly, which made Pansy glare at him then leave, not even she stood up to Draco in a temper.  
  
Just before she left she whispered venomously to Hermione to stay away from Draco. Draco saw Hermione and crouched beside her  
  
"Hey, are you OK" He asked softly  
  
"What do you care? I'm just a mudblood to you too" She yelled at him  
  
"I'm so sorry about that, we didn't expect you to be around. It was all staged...2  
  
"SAVE IT" She stated and ran back to the prefects common room  
  
Draco and Hermione had been out much later than anticipated, so as Hermione made it to the end of the corridor the storm started up as Dumbledore had predicted. Hermione jumped in fright and let out a squeak  
  
"Here we go again" Thought Draco as he ran to catch up with her.  
  
It only took him a few seconds to get to her as a second clap of thunder sounded, Hermione flinched again and Draco pulled her to him and held her tightly. She loved that safe yet exciting feeling whenever she was in his arms so relaxed slightly, then realised, she was mad at him and pushed him away. Draco loved the fact he could calm her fear and felt a sinking feeling in his stomach at the loss of contact.  
  
"Don't" she warned "Why do you do that? Just leave me alone"  
  
"Let me take you back to the common room, please" Draco begged her  
  
"Stay away from me"  
  
"Fine, I was only trying to help" Draco yelled back as lightening flashed through a window  
  
"I don't need your help!" Hermione shouted and ran back to the common room, wishing she wasn't so stubborn and was in Draco's arms. "Damn pride" she muttered  
  
Draco was infuriated, he was mad at Hermione for pushing him away and not giving him a chance and mad at himself for letting himself get in such a state. He stomped back to the common room forcing himself to calm down.  
  
A/N: Hope you're enjoying, I'll be away for the next few days camping, so post the next chapter up as soon as I can. If you like this, I've got a couple of others posted, give them a go! Thanx xx 


	11. chapter 11

A/N: Sorry for not updating for a while, I've been away. Here's the next part.  
  
Chapter 11  
  
Hermione went storming through the portrait of the prefects' common room just as Ernie and Padma were going to bed.  
  
"Their patrol went well then" Ernie said dryly as Hermione slammed her door  
  
"Definitely" Padma agreed as Draco stormed through the portrait moments later

* * *

Hermione sat on her bed cursing herself, why couldn't she have just listened to what Draco wanted to say? Why did she push him away when she wanted to be with him? Why did he make her so mad? The answers came from a little voice in the back of her head that told her she acted that way not to show she liked him incase it was thrown back in her face. Hermione buried her face in her pillow and screamed.  
  
Meanwhile Draco was still in a temper and wondering why Hermione and himself could not have a decent conversation. He knew the answer though, because he was afraid of what her reaction might be if he revealed he had a crush on her, and the way things were going it looked like they hated each other.  
  
The storm raged on, making Hermione jump at every clap of thunder and flash of lightening. She was now curled up on her bed, shaking slightly and the only one who knew her fear was Draco.  
  
Draco was pacing his room debating whether or not to go and see if Hermione was OK, she'd told him to stay away, but had a feeling she didn't mean it as when he held her she relaxed slightly before going off on a rant.

* * *

Upon hearing a particularly large thunderclap and flash of lightening, Hermione decided that if she stood any chance of surviving the night with her nervous system intact she would have to be near Draco. Her thoughts had led her to the conclusion that maybe she did overreact a bit and shouldn't have taken her frustration out on the one person who could help her.  
  
Draco had also decided at this point that he should try and talk to Hermione again, even if just to calm her down from the state she was no doubt in, and he wanted to apologise for previous behaviour.  
  
With these thoughts in mind both walked out of their rooms at the same time. Immediately their eyes locked, they remained like that for a few seconds  
  
"Hi" Draco said softly "Hi" came the quiet reply  
  
"A-are you OK?"  
  
Hermione thought for a moment before answering, she could either, say yes and go against everything she wanted in her heart to do, or say no and just go for it. Slowly she shook her head whilst looking down. Another thunderclap made her flinch causing her to want to be in Draco's arms even more.  
  
Draco noticed her flinch but didn't want a replay of earlier so he stayed where he was. Noticing a tear fall down Hermione's face Draco decided to throw caution to the wind and walk over to her.  
  
"Hermione?" he inquired gently whilst placing his hand on her arm  
  
This had an instant reaction out of Hermione whose heart rate increased because he had said her name. Hermione looked up into Draco's gorgeous grey eyes and couldn't deny any longer that she was starting to fall for the Slytherin Prince. As Draco looked down into her dark brown eyes he knew this was the perfect opportunity to speak to her.  
  
Draco traced his hand down her arm and found her hand, at the touch they both felt electricity shoot through them. Draco led her to his room and shut the door behind them. Hermione felt safer knowing Draco was with her. A sudden flash of lightening sent her flying into Dracos arms and this time she didn't pull away. As the storm continued to rage Hermione felt Dracos arms tighten around her as she closed her eyes and savoured the dizzying feeling.

* * *

After about ten minutes Hermione reluctantly pulled away and again looked into his eyes  
  
"Draco, I'm so sorry"  
  
She said his name! Draco almost stopped breathing  
  
"Yeah" he finally replied "me too"  
  
The temperature had dropped but neither noticed as they were more concerned with each other. It wasn't until Hermiones body shivered that they realised.  
  
Draco suggested sitting on the bed so they could use the duvet for warmth. The weather continued to pound outside, so they ended up sitting at the top of Draco's bed under the duvet, with Hermione wrapped in his arms. At that point neither could remember being more content or having that exciting buzz.  
  
"Hermione, I want to apologise for my behaviour, especially lately"  
  
"I'm the one that should be apologising, for going at you when you were just trying to help"  
  
"Did I? Help I mean" Draco asked  
  
"Since that first time in the library"  
  
Neither knew what else to say there was so much they wanted to say but still feared rejection.  
  
"Please answer me truthfully, are you mad at the guys for talking to me?" Draco inquired  
  
"No" Hermione said softly "I was mad at them for not telling me, especially Ginny because...never mind" she finished quickly  
  
"Tell me" Draco encouraged "Please" he whispered near her ear, which sent shivers down Hermiones spine.

* * *

She again thought for a moment debating whether to tell him of her feelings or not, but felt so good with him that the words just tumbled out of her mouth.  
  
"Well, I, er, um started to have a bit of a crush on you and Ginny was the only one who knew" Hermione bowed her head  
  
"Y-you have feelings for me?" Draco stuttered in surprise  
  
"Yeah, I mean I was so confused. One minute you acted like you hated me, the next you made me feel so safe, I didn't know what to think. Gin helped me put stuff into perspective and I kept thinking about you, there was the ball, then we kept arguing, then ignoring each other..." Hermione continued to ramble  
  
Then there was silence. Draco cut her off by gently lifting her chin to meet his gaze before ghosting his lips across hers. The kiss was so soft that Hermione thought she'd imagined it for a second. She opened her eyes and looked deep into Dracos, Hermione then leant into him and brushed her lips over his in a lingering kiss. The kiss deepened, neither wanted to break away for fear of it being a dream. Finally the two parted, breathless and slightly shocked.  
  
Hermione broke the silence  
  
"Can you answer me something truthfully" she asked softly "why the change"  
  
Draco told Hermione of the conversations between himself and Blaise and how they wanted to change, not believing in the things they were brought up with, then about meeting the Gryffindors.

* * *

Hermione listened but had a burning question  
  
"Why did you have such a problem with me?" She asked quietly  
  
"I was always told to hate you, but found especially this year I couldn't. I don't know when but I started to get strange feelings around you. I didn't want you to find out because I thought you hated me, and I was afraid of being friendly towards you incase you laughed at me" he answered sincerely  
  
"So all this time we were arguing and ignoring this year was because we were both afraid of rejection" Hermione concluded  
  
"Sounds stupid doesn't it" Draco commented  
  
Hermione smiled. They both felt a wave of relief spread over them making both feel quite tired. Draco looked at his clock, it read 2am, the thunder had ceased but the rain continued outside. Hermione leant her head on Draco's shoulder and he softly kissed her hair.  
  
"It's late, do you want to stay here tonight?" Draco asked tentatively  
  
Hermiones room was only next door but she wanted to stay with Draco, where she was happy. She looked up at him  
  
"Thank you, for everything" She whispered softly as they shifted down the bed until they were comfortably laying in each other's arms.  
  
Both had concerns about the reaction of others to this, and how they were going to deal with it themselves but they would sort that out in the morning. For now all that mattered was the perfect bliss they were finally feeling.  
  
A/N: I'll try to update as soon as I can, please tell me what you think. Thanx! 


	12. Chapter 12

* * *

A/N: Thanks to my reviewers especially Dracoisahottie13 for continuing to review.  
  
Chapter 12  
  
The next morning Draco and Hermione awoke in a good mood, luckily it was a Saturday so sleeping until 9:30 wasn't a problem. From the bed they could see that it was grey and murky outside which made them want to stay where they were. Their comfortable position was interrupted by a tapping on Draco's window, he walked over and retrieved the note attached to the leg of an owl. It was from Blaise telling him that the gang was meeting in their usual place at 1pm.  
  
The two spent the rest of the morning talking and discussing what would be the best way to act around each other in public. Hermione and Draco decided that it would be best to act civil infront of the heads and other prefects and ignore each other around everyone else, which neither really wanted to do. At about 12 they both went for lunch but walked different ways. Draco joined Blaise at the Slytherin table whilst Hermione cautiously approached her friends at the Gryffindor table  
  
"Hi guys" she said quietly as she took a seat next to ginny  
  
"Hi Mione" Ginny replied "we're sorry we didn't tell you about the guys" she continued, not using their names incase someone overheard.  
  
"I'm sorry too, for overreacting"  
  
"So, are you going to hang out with us today?" Parvarti asked  
  
"Yeah, come on" Harry added  
  
"OK, why not" Hermione agreed

* * *

Draco and Blaise avoided talking about the gang and their meeting at the Slytherin table so just talked about random stuff. By about 12:30 they had left the great hall and wandered around the halls before making their way to meet the others.  
  
The Gryffindors left the great hall about fifteen minutes later not to arouse suspicion. They all arrived at the room at the same time and greeted each other with warm smiles, as they walked into the room Draco and Hermione were the last to enter and briefly touched hands making their insides flutter. Ginny who had been the first to enter had turned around and caught this and the glance the two cast each other. So while the others were chatting she Ginny walked over to Hermione  
  
"Spill it" Ginny simply said  
  
"What?" Hermione replied confused  
  
"You know what I mean, I saw that look between you and Draco when you came in"  
  
As Hermione was thinking about what to say Draco and Blaise walked over to them. Hermione and Draco exchange a small smile, they didn't want to hide this. But Blaise caught the smile  
  
"OK, spill" He demanded  
  
Ginny had to suppress a giggle as Hermione looked at him in exasperation and Draco looked at him in confusion  
  
"What's with you two?" Hermione asked  
  
"Oh come off it" Blaise said "you know exactly what I mean and judging by that reaction Gin has already asked you the same thing"  
  
"Hello, confused here" Draco piped in  
  
"We know something's going on with you two" Ginny stated  
  
"Or you want it to" Blaise added with a grin  
  
Hermione and Draco looked at each other, how could they know? They caught the look in the others' eye that said this was a good opportunity to tell them.  
  
"OK" Draco said putting his arms around Hermiones waist "how did you know?"  
  
"Well, we knew you liked each other" Blaise said  
  
"The thing when you came in gave it away" Ginny admitted  
  
"And the look just now when we came over" Blaise added  
  
Over the other side of the room the other four wondered if they were seeing straight, Hermione and Draco together, but they hated each other, didn't they?  
  
"Well it kinda makes sense in a weird way" Lavender said  
  
They other three looked at her before actually thinking about the way Hermione and Draco were around each other, then agreed with her.  
  
"It's bloody strange though" Ron commented  
  
"You're not wrong there" Harry agreed  
  
"So when did this happen?" Lavender asked eagerly as they all sat down  
  
"Last night" Hermione answered  
  
"Our secrets are just getting bigger, I never would have expected this though" Harry commented.  
  
The eight students spent the rest of the afternoon together chatting, gossiping and actually did a bit of homework all glad of the friendship that had formed.

* * *

The next week passed with minimum of fuss, Jenna and Jordan were glad that Hermione and Draco had learnt to be civil it made their job a lot easier as well as Padma and Ernies. The gang continued to meet regularly and Draco and Hermione were happier than they had been in months.  
  
One particular Slytherin however noticed some changes, such as Draco never insulted the Golden Trio anymore, there would be the odd glare, sneer or remark but no cutting insults or deliberate trouble making. This annoyed her, she knew Blaise had eased up after dating Parvarti, but hated this rubbing off on Draco, her Draco.  
  
"Drakkie, why don't you hassle those stupid Gryffindorks anymore" pansy whined in what she thought was a seductive voice "we used to have such fun" she continued as he was in the Slytherin common room checking things were in order because term was ending in a few days.  
  
"Pansy, grow up, we're sixth years for Christ sake" Draco retorted  
  
Her mood suddenly turned sour, he was betraying his own house and her. Even though they were never together Pansy had got it into her head that they were supposed to be together. Most people had noticed that she fawned over him and he for the most part ignored it, but some Slytherins liked her cruelty, especially to the Gryffindors.  
  
"You've changed Draco" she stated "Blaise got to you with his new outlook, be careful, this would not please your father"  
  
Draco looked at her, she really was pathetic. Threatening him with his father how childish. He rolled his eyes at her and left the common room, which only served to infuriate her even more.

* * *

Hermione was in the Gryffindor common room doing the same before she headed back to the prefect dorm for the night. She had been on patrol with Ernie that night and they had only encountered a couple of fifth years making out in a corridor, which they let go as it was near Christmas and there was mistletoe above them.  
  
As Hermione made her way back to the prefect common room along the many corridors, she saw Pansy coming the other way. Pansy was already in a stinking mood and seeing Hermione made it even worse. As soon as she saw Hermione her mind started churning out insults, she hated the Gryffindor mudblood as she called Hermione. Then it struck her, Draco was living with Hermione, it was her fault he'd changed as well. Come to think of it Panst was sure she'd seen Draco stare at Hermione and share brief smiles when he thought no one was looking which made Pansy jealous, how dare Hermione even think of looking at her Draco.  
  
Hermione saw the look of pure hatred on Pansy's face as she walked towards her, in truth Hermione was hoping that Pansy would walk straight past her even if it was past curfew, Hermione didn't want to fight with the Slytherin bitch. But no such luck  
  
"I told you once mudblood, stay away from Draco" Pansy hissed "he's changed and I don't like it."  
  
"Parkinson, go back to your dorm it's past curfew" Hermione stated simply  
  
"I'm talking here" Pansy shot as she pushed Hermione into the wall with such force that Hermione hit her forehead on a sharp brick causing a fair size cut "you'll pay for this"  
  
"Get stuffed" Hermione yelled "10 points off Slytherin for being out past curfew and another 10 for attacking a prefect"  
  
Hermione knew this would anger her but didn't really care she had a throbbing headache. Hermione went to walk past her but Pansy grabbed her arm tight and put her other hand to Hermiones throat  
  
"Potter and Weasley aren't here to save you now, you were lucky last time with Draco"  
  
Hermione began to feel the rise of panic, she knew Pansy had a temper but never thought she would go this far. As Pansy's grip tightened around her throat Hermione used her free hand to push Pansy off, which was hard with a throbbing head and lack of oxygen, so Hermione reached into her robes and found her wand  
  
"Expelliarmus" Hermione choked out  
  
Pansy was sent flying down the corridor leaving Hermione dizzy and gasping for breath. Pansy landed on the floor with a thud but wasn't knocked out, she got up and glared daggers at Hermione  
  
"This isn't over mudblood" Pansy hissed as she ran back to the Slytherin common room  
  
Hermione slid down the wall and closed her eyes, why couldn't Pansy just leave her alone, thank Merlin that school finished in a couple of days. Hermione lifted herself from the ground, her back and head were painful from being thrown into the wall and her throat hurt and arm hurt from Pansy's grip. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she made her way back to the prefect's common room, she hoped that the others were either in bed or not back yet, especially Draco so he wouldn't see her like this.

* * *

As she entered the portrait she heard Padma and Ernie talking about the various students they'd caught that night as they walked up the stairs to their rooms. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and walked into the common room, she hadn't heard Draco come in behind her. She sat on a couch infront of the fire and touched her hand to where her head hurt, Hermione flinched as her hand made contact with the bleeding cut. She didn't know it was bleeding until she touched it.  
  
Draco watched Hermione sit on the couch then flinch as she touched her head and wondered what was wrong. He walked around the front of the couch and knelt down in front of her as she silently cried. Hermione didn't notice him until he spoke and softly lifted her head up.  
  
"Hey, what's wro...what the hell happened?" He asked worriedly  
  
"N-nothing, I fell" she stammered, she hated lying to him but didn't want any trouble  
  
Draco didn't believe her, but didn't want to push her. It was late so Hermione decided to go to bed and winced as she got up, Draco noticed this but still didn't see the bruising forming on her neck. As Hermione went to walk up the stairs Draco came behind her and snaked his arms around her waist, Hermione closed her eyes relishing the feeling of safety, she leant her head back against him, unwittingly exposing her neck. As he started softly kissing it more tears formed in Hermiones eyes  
  
"Draco, I can't do this anymore" she said quietly  
  
"W-what do you mean?" Draco inquired, it was then that he noticed the bruising  
  
Draco turned Hermione to face him and traced her face with his hand, he knew who'd done it.  
  
"Did Pansy do this?" he asked  
  
Hermione looked down at the ground, there was no point denying it. Draco had known Pansy for years.  
  
"She blames me for you changing, she warned me to stay away from you" Hermione admitted  
  
Draco looked at Hermione, he never thought Pansy would go that far, insults and torments yes, but not physical violence of this much.  
  
"I'm scared Draco, she said it wasn't over" Hermione whispered  
  
Draco pulled her to him tightly, and kissed her head  
  
"I'll sort this out" he said through gritted teeth  
  
Hermione told him not to do anything, otherwise it would expose them and cause more trouble, and that they were going home in a couple of days and maybe it would blow over or something. Draco didn't like it but saw her point.  
  
"Do you want to stay with me tonight?" He asked gently  
  
Hermione looked up at him and placed her lips over his, he wrapped his arms round her waist as she put her arms around his neck, Draco placed butterfly kisses across her face and down her neck, which sent shivers down Hermiones spine. He then brought his lips back to hers and they deepened the kiss. Draco pulled away  
  
"I take that as a yes"  
  
Hermione smiled at him and looked deep into his silver eyes. When they got to his room Draco performed a healing spell on Hermiones cut and bruises before once again falling asleep in each others arms.  
  
A/N: I'll try to update as soon as I can! Please review. 


	13. chapter 13

* * *

A/N: Major apologies for not updating in ages, I went away again at the last minute, and am a bit ill at the moment. Anyway on with the story, I'm hoping to finish it soon.

Chapter 13.

The next day at lunch the gang were sitting together in their classroom discussing Christmas break, which started the next day. Neither Draco nor Hermione had mentioned the Pansy incident.

"So what's everyone doing for Christmas?" Lavender asked

Ginny, Ron, Hermione and Parvarti all said they were going home to their families and Harry was going to the burrow with the Weasleys. Blaise and Draco were oddly silent and gave each other a nervous look, the gang picked up on it.

"Uh, guys what's wrong?" Hermione asked with concern

"We're going home too, for a bit" Blaise replied

Draco decided just to spit it out

"We're going home to tell our parents everything, it's not going to be pretty"

The rest were speechless for a moment as it slowly registered that what the two boys were going to do could prove pretty damn dangerous considering the tempers of their fathers.

"Wow, I don't envy you" Ron quipped earning him a 'no kidding' look from everyone.

"You're really going to do it?" Parvarti asked quietly resting her head only Blaise's shoulder.

"Guess so" he replied

The gang sat quietly for a moment wondering what to do, and what could happen to Draco and Blaise. Ever the one to break silences Lavender spoke

"You're all going to the New Years ball, right?"

It did remove some of the tension in the room as it gave the gang something else to set their minds on. It was agreed that they would all go, it also gave Hermione an idea

"How about we come back a couple of days before the ball, then spend the rest of the holidays here?"

Faces started to brighten up at that idea, of course they would have to get permission but that wouldn't be a problem, especially as it was shoeing inter- house unity.

"Don't you want to be with your families?" Draco asked incredulously

"Well, I usually go to the burrow at some point anyway, so why not come here instead" Hermione stated simply

"Our house will be quite full anyway, so it would be good to get away" Ginny added

It was soon arranged that all of them would come back early and stay.

"We'd better go guys, its getting near dinner then we have to pack" Harry piped in

As they were walking out of the classroom Draco pulled Hermione to one side

"Thanks for that, it means a lot" he said sincerely

"It was nothing, I know this sounds soppy but I didn't want you to be on your own at Christmas, I want to be with you."

Draco pulled Hermione to him and held her tight, he then gave her a soft kiss, which could have got a bit hotter if Lavender hadn't yelled at them to hurry up.

* * *

Later that night when they were packing, Hermione went into Draco's room

"Hey" she said softly "I wish I could come with you tomorrow"

"Me too, but it would be impossible. I dread to think what my father would do, especially after my revelation, he'd probably kill you" Draco replied

Hermione had a sudden thought, what if Lucius did come after her, or her parents, what if he attacked Draco. Noticing the pained look on her face, Draco tried to reassure her

"Don't worry, I won't let him get anywhere near you. Blaise and I are going to Professor Dumbledore before we go tomorrow...just incase"

It worked slightly, Hermione felt a bit more relaxed.

* * *

That evening, after a final early round Hermione and Draco sat on a couch in the prefects' common room. Draco had his arm around Hermione and she was curled up with her head on his shoulder. Ernie and Padma got back a bit later and saw this, they looked at each other in shock. The two knew that Hermione and Draco weren't fighting anymore but this was quite a turn out for the books.

A few moments later Jordan and Jenna walked in to the same sight as well whilst other two prefects staring at them.

"What the hell did we miss?" Jordan asked

"Apparently the same as us" Ernie replied

The four walked over to the two on the sofa who were unaware of their presence. Hermione and Draco looked at them, shock and worry in their eyes. If news of them got out now, it could cause major trouble.

"OK, I'm overjoyed that you two have stopped fighting, but this" Jenna babbled "please explain"

Draco and Hermione looked at each other. Hermione took a deep breath and told them that it was a long story and pleaded with them not to tell anyone. Luckily they agreed and all had a good evening hanging out.

* * *

The following morning the gang all left for home, with apprehension. Draco and Blaise had promised to write and tell the rest what was going on with them. It was going to be a long start to the holiday.

A/N: I hope to update sooner this time, sorry again for the delay.


	14. chapter 14

A/N: I re-wrote this last chapter slightly, as I wasn't happy with it, also I split the chapter so there's another one after this!  
  
Chapter 14 

It was five days into the holidays and no- one had received word from Draco or Blaise. The rest of the gang were getting curious; did they tell their parents right away or are they waiting for the right moment?

Hermione heard a tap at her window and let in Parvarti's owl, which she saw every day. The two wrote every day to see if there was any news, this letter was no different

_Hermione,_

_Have you heard from Draco yet? I haven't heard a thing and am starting to get a bit worried. How are you holding up? _

_Lavender says hi, she came over to cheer me up!_

_Write soon_

_Parvarti _

Hermione quickly wrote a reply saying she was worried a little too and hoped to hear something soon. Just as she sent the letter Pig, Ron's owl arrived asking if she'd heard anything.

* * *

Malfoy Manor

"Father, Mother, I must speak with you" Draco stated.

Although he appeared calm and collected, inside he was shaking. He knew his father's reaction would not be good.

"Yes Draco, what is it?" came the cold drawl of Lucius Malfoy

"I have thought about this for a while now"

He paused and took a deep breath whilst his parents looked at him impatiently

"Well?" Narcissa prompted

"I have decided against becoming a death- eater. I have no wish to follow the Dark Lord" he finished still showing no emotion

"Well done my son, quite convincing, I almost believed you. But you would never be that foolish. You will be a great asset to us. After that little performance I will have o see about moving your initiation forward" Lucius pronounced

Draco inwardly sighed; this was going to be hell.

"No father, it wasn't an act. I don't want to carry on the family tradition, I want to choose my own path."

Lucius' eyes narrowed as he shot a cold glance at his son and was strangely silent. At last he spoke in an intimidating voice

"Are to trying to make a fool out of me Draco? You're weak, you've allowed those idiots at Hogwarts to brainwash you."

"No I have made the decision on my own and am standing by it"

Draco realised too late that it might have been the wrong thing to say

"Why you traitorous little brat. How dare you turn your back on your upbringing, you don't deserve to be in the service of the Dark Lord. With an attitude like that you will die along with the likes of Potter and those other twits"

Lucius' tone cut like a dagger straight through Draco's front, he visibly flinched as did Narcissa, but she knew better than to defy Lucius.

Lucius was about to take out his wand but the sound of the doorbell stopped him.

"We'll finish this later" he snarled and went to receive his guests

From the lounge Draco could hear the voices of Blaise's parents

"Lucius, we are having a big problem with Blaise" Mr Zabini stated angrily "it seems he's developed an unbecoming attitude towards the Dark Lord. I was wondering if perhaps Draco could talk to him and put him straight"

During their little exchange Mrs. Zabini had moved to speak to Narcissa, whilst Blaise and Draco now started to panic.

"This isn't good" Blaise commented as he just about heard Lucius telling his father about Dracos problem

"I take it yours didn't down go too well either" Draco quipped

"Like a lead broomstick!" Blaise replied

When the two fathers entered the room a fearful atmosphere surrounded it

"Right Draco, Blaise" Lucius started "we have decided to forget this little incident if you stop this idiotic behaviour and accept your future"

"No" Draco stated simply

"We've chosen our paths and will not apologise for having our own views" Blaise added

The two fathers looked at each other

"You disappoint us, now you must face the consequence" Mr Zabini remarked cruelly

The two men aimed their wands at the boys and performed the crutiatus curse. Draco and Blaise crippled in pain but refused to show it. This only served to have the curse performed again. At this Mrs Zabini and Narcissa stepped up

"Don't you think this is a bit extreme" Mrs Zabini tried to reason with her husband

"Stay out of it" he barked in reply

"But..." Narcissa went to say but Lucius glared at her

"Don't even think about it" he growled

The boys took this opportunity to try and get out but were hit with numerous spells they'd never heard of before. Draco suffered the worst of it, as Lucius was relentless

"I can't take much more" Draco gasped as he and Blaise tried to move away

Blaise got hit again and fell to the floor "me either, was that even legal?"

"Is anything they're using" Draco commented dryly

Seeing this state, Lucius and Mr Zabini smirked and turned their backs for a minute to discuss a next curse, that would surely make the traitors pay. Draco saw them turn and whispered to Blaise

"Now, lets go"

They used their last remaining bit of strength

"Where?" Blaise asked in a panic

"My room" Draco managed to get out as they hauled themselves painfully up the stairs

"Dumbledore, portkey" he gasped as they got to his room where Dumbledore had set up a portkey disguised as a book.

In seconds they felt a lurch forward and disappeared just as their fathers burst in.

* * *

A few moments later they collapsed into the hospital wing at Hogwarts

"Oh dear Merlin" Madame Pomfrey shouted "what happened?"

"I believe we just gained ourselves some allies" came the serene voice of Professor Dumbledore as he smiled fondly at the two boys he least expected to change.

Draco and Blaise were ordered onto beds and were soon being treated for their injuries by Madame Pomfrey who was muttering about the dangers children place themselves in nowadays.

* * *

The next day the gang received word from Blaise and Draco saying that they'd told their families and were alive but in the care of Madame Pomfrey.

This made the gang want to meet immediately, so through a series of owls, they all arranged to floo to the burrow the next day. It had taken a while to convince the Weasleys to allow Draco and Blaise into their home but with a polite letter from Hermione and whinging from the three that were already there it was accomplished.

* * *

The next morning Mrs. Weasley was up early preparing for guests, according to Ron and Ginny she loved having people to feed, although she was still unsure about Draco and Blaise.

"Are you sure about those two?" Mrs Weasley asked for about the twentieth time

"Mum, we've been through all this" Ron said exasperated

"They really have changed" Ginny added with a pleading face

"OK, OK, I believe you" Mrs Weasley conceded but still had her doubts.

These however, were all forgotten when they floo'd from Hogwarts looking like they'd been more than a few rounds with the whomping willow. She immediately took pity on them and started fussing, the two boys weren't used to this but found it quite comforting. Hermione was the last to arrive shortly after the boys, she ran straight to Draco and hugged him not ever wanting to let go.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed "I'm so glad you here and OK"

"So" Ron started the question in all minds "What the hell happened?"

The boys looked at each other and began their tale.

Draco started saying that his father was away for a few days at the start so he couldn't speak to them at first, the same was true of Blaise. Then one evening Draco just decided to spit it out. At this point Blaise quipped

"I was nervous enough confronting my parents, but rather them than Lucius. He's just plain terrifying"

They all agreed shifting uncomfortably at the thought of having to tell the Dark Lords right- hand man you don't want anything to do with the dark side.

"Anyway" Draco continued "I calmly revealed that I didn't want to follow in my fathers footsteps, and so on"

"Then what?" Lavender asked

"He was strangely silent for a moment, which is worse than when he's ranting about something. When he's silent it usually means something bad, anyway he looked at me and finally yelled something about me being an insolent, traitorous brat who doesn't deserve to be recognised by the Dark Lord and will perish along with you guys" Draco continued

"My parents didn't do the whole silent thing they just yelled a lot and threatened to disown me if I carried on, which I did." Blaise said simply

"So how come you're so beat up?" Parvarti asked quietly holding Blaises hand

Blaise continued about how his parents went to Draco's thinking he was the model son and could talk some sense into Blaise but found Lucius and Narcissa in the same predicament.

"So basically" Draco interrupted "our fathers got pissed and curses started flying. At first I think it was just to scare us, but then it got out of hand" he finished quietly

Draco was still holding Hermione who snuggled into his chest as the others looked sympathetically at Blaise and Draco.

"Luckily we'd spoken to Dumbledore, who somehow managed to get a portkey into Dracos room. It's a good job we hauled ass outta the line of fire when we did, another curse would have done some possibly irreversible damage" Blaise added

"What's going to happen to you now?" Ginny asked softly

"Don't really know, we can't be touched at Hogwarts so we'll stay there. We're in our final year next year anyway so we can get our own place after that." Draco commented

The gang soon learnt that Draco and Blaise had got a vault at Gringotts earlier on in the year and had quite a substantial amount of money, as they expected this type of reaction from their parents.

* * *

The rest of the day was relaxed, they talked and speculated about what would happen when they returned to school and Mrs. Weasley seemed to enjoy fussing over them.

As it got late people had to return home. Lavender had to be up early the next day so left first. Hermione and Parvarti had asked Draco and Blaise if they wanted to spend Christmas at their houses but they agreed it would be safer for the boys at Hogwarts, at least for a bit longer until tempers had cooled off. Soon it was only Ginny, Ron and Harry left at the burrow

"I must say" Mrs. Weasley stated as they were clearing away some left over dishes "those boys are very pleasant young men, especially given the families they're from. It's so brave of them to stand up to parents like that"

Ron and Ginny rolled their eyes as their mother rambled on, even though they agreed.

A/N: OK, bit happier with this now, only one chapter left. xx


	15. chapter 15

A/N: This is the final chapter, hope you enjoy!

Chapter 15

The next week passed quickly as they awaited the early return to Hogwarts, all eight of them frequently owled each other with news, gossip and whatever else they could think of. Hermione's mother was quite impressed that her daughter seemed to have a more active social life.

On the day they returned to Hogwarts Hermione floo'd to the burrow in the morning and they travelled together. Parvarti and Lavender had travelled together along with Padma, Parvarti's twin sister. Padma had also convinced Ernie to come back early as well.

With news of extra students coming back Dumbledore had allowed them a private dorm especially as there were members of all four houses.

* * *

When Parvarti, Lavender, Padma and Ernie entered the dorm Ginny, Harry and Ron looked a bit worriedly from Draco and Hermione who were in each other's arms and Ernie and Padma.

"It's OK" Draco reassured them "they know about us"

"How?" Ron asked

"We walked in on them being all soppy on the sofa at the end of term" Ernie told him

"How long have you guys known about them?"

"Lets just say some of us knew before they did" Ginny admitted with a smile

"People are going to find this really weird you know" Padma said "I mean Gryffindors and Slytherins being friends. People were shocked at Parvarti and Blaise, but you two are a whole new level of seeing is believing" she continued looking at Draco and Hermione

"They'll just have to get used to it" Hermione stated

They gang all agreed and started talking about the ball, soon it was lunch dinnertime and because there were only a couple of other students staying at Hogwarts there weren't the usual house tables just one down the middle. When the gang entered and sat down together the few students looked at them in surprise, so did a few of the Professors, there had been talk of new friendships but this had just proved it. Dumbledore found this very encouraging and wished more of his students would follow their example although it seemed unlikely.

* * *

The day of the ball was fast approaching and quite a few students had come back the day before it to meet friends, dates and sort out clothes including a lot of Slytherins.

The day before the ball the gang sorted out what they were wearing, they were pretty much paired off, it was obvious that Ron and Lavender liked each other, Ginny and Harry were together, Hermione and Draco, Blaise and Parvarti and Padma and Ernie, so it worked out well.

* * *

The next day Despite Dumbledore saying he would organise and decorate himself the guys decided to see if he wanted some last minute help. They wandered through the halls attracting many strange glances from people unaccustomed to seeing Slytherins and Gryffindors together. So far they hadn't encountered much more than glares and curiosity.

Hermione was a bit ahead of the rest as they approached the deserted corridor leading to the great hall. Suddenly she was pulled roughly and pushed against the wall

"I told you to stay way from Draco, mudblood" Pansy hissed

"Parkinson, sod off and leave me alone. Haven't you grown up yet?" Hermione shot back

"Listen, you took him from me, and now you'll pay and once again there's no- one around" came the cruel reply

Pansy was about to attack Hermione when a calm voice was heard behind her

"I recommend you think twice before you act Miss Parkinson" stated Dumbledore who had witnessed the scene "bullying will not be tolerated at this school, your punishment will be discussed tomorrow in my office as well as for previous actions"

Pansy glared menacingly at Hermione thinking she'd gone to Dumbledore after their last meeting

"Miss Granger has not said anything to me regarding you Miss Parkinson, neither has any other student" Dumbledore stated as if sensing Pansy's thoughts

"It was one of the ghosts who happened to pass by, obviously unnoticed" he revealed "Now I trust there will be no more trouble?" he continued

"No Professor" Pansy said through gritted teeth

"Well then, I have business to attend to" Dumbledore said and turned to leave

Dumbledore left the two girls glaring at each other just as the rest if the group caught up to Hermione. They saw Pansy and Draco glared at her whilst moving to Hermiones side and protectively putting his arm round her waist.

"You OK?" Blaise said coming up beside them

"Yes, I'm fine" Hermione replied, but had a bit of pain in her shoulder

"What the hell's going on?" Pansy shot at Blaise and Draco, seeing the rest of the gang.

"Nothing, we're just hanging about with our friends" Blaise answered

"So the rumours are true then" sneered Michael Nott another Sixth year Slytherin who'd just arrived on the scene "you've gone soft"

"We see it as making our own choice" Draco shot back

"You're nothing without your father" Pansy spat at Draco

"We'll see, come on guys we got better things to do" he replied simply and walked off with the gang leaving two annoyed Slytherins behind. Although Blaise and Draco had recovered some of the severe bruising and scratches were still more or less visible, so it was obvious that something had happened to them and there were sneaking suspicions that it had to do with new friends.

* * *

A few hours later the ball had started, as had rumours about the earlier conflict and Draco and Blaises revelation. Many were shocked or didn't believe that two such prominent Slytherins had defied their known death- eater parents and were on the light side. The rumours were confirmed true though when Draco and Hermione walked in as a couple followed by Blaise and Parvarti.

There were a lot of whispers and pointing as well as people actually asking them if the rumours were true. It was difficult to grasp the concept of Gryffindor Princess and the Slytherin Prince being together, but then Blaise and Draco being friends with Harry Potter and the Weasleys made it all the more amazing. Many students wondered what they had missed, didn't they hate each other before Christmas?

The gang all spent the night dancing away, talking and generally having a blast. The only ones having major problems were the older Slytherins, surprisingly some of the younger ones followed example and started interacting with other houses, which made Professor Snape roll his eyes and huff, he was only at this because Dumbledore had forcefully requested it.

As the music mellowed and slowed down, the guys swapped partners for different songs seen as they all got on so well. Blaise and Ginny were dancing together at one point and talked about their friends

"They look so good together" Ginny commented about Draco and Hermione

"Yeah, I'm glad they got together, I don't think I've ever seen Draco that happy and comfortable" Blaise added

Ginny looked at him quizzically

"I mean he's always put up a front, a mask that no- ones ever got through, except Hermione"

"Yeah, I think it's been good for both of them. Now onto our next project" Ginny said mischievously, looking at Ron and Lavender

"I don't think they need any help realising their feelings" Blaise smiled

"Nope, just acting on them" Ginny grinned "my brother can be so blind sometimes"

The two laughed and continued dancing until the end of the song when they again swapped partners. Hermione danced with Harry whilst Draco danced with Ginny.

Finally the second to last dance was announced and they took their original partners ready for the countdown, then the last dance.

The song that played first was Mandy Moore 'I wanna be with you', as they danced Hermione and Draco felt so right together and as they looked into each others eyes each one knew they were falling hard and fast for the other.

_I wanna be with you  
If only for a night  
To be the one whose in your arms  
Who holds you tight  
I wanna be with you  
There's nothing more to say  
There's nothing else I want more than to feel this way_

Neither could believe that it could happen in such a short space of time, and neither wanted to let it go.

_I wanna be with you _

_So I'll hold you tonight  
Like I would if you were mine  
To hold forever more  
And I'll saver each touch that I wanted  
So much to feel before (To feel before)  
How beautiful it is  
Just to be like this _

As the song ended the countdown began, the gang stood in a circle so they were all together and joined the rest in counting down

"10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1"

"Happy New Year" could be heard throughout the great hall as friends greeted each other welcoming in the New Year.

Hermione and Draco kissed softly but passionately, loving every moment. When they parted Draco whispered in her ear

"I love you"

Hermione stared at him in shock and excitement. Draco wondered how she would take this and hoped that it wasn't too soon to say that seriously.

"I love you too" Hermione replied looking into Dracos deep silver eyes

They then joined in with their friends' greetings and the tradition of singing Auld Lang Syne. As people continued to greet each other the Professors watched as a lot of their students took no care of house rivalries. In particular they noted one couple

"Who'd have thought it" Professor McGonagall commented as she saw Draco and Hermione again in each others arms

"Yes, I know" Dumbledore replied "but they are very good together"

She agreed as they then commented on Blaise and Parvarti.

Dumbledore then wished everyone a Happy New Year, how proud he was at the display of friendship between houses and announced the last dance.

_I'll be your dream_

_I'll be you wish _

_I'll be your fantasy_

_I'll be your hope_

_I'll be your love_

_Be everything that you need_

_I love you more with every breath_

_Truly, madly, deeply do_

As Savage Gardens 'Truly, Madly, Deeply' sounded through the great hall couples danced for once not caring what anyone would say...well for the night anyway, there would be plenty to gossip about once school started again!

* * *

The night seemed to mark a turning point for the gang, as they walked back to their dorm, they each felt lucky to have found true friends, even if it took a while to get there and somewhere inside they knew that they would always be there for each other.

"Hey guys" Draco said as they were about to go to bed

"Yeah, huh?" they all muttered

"Blaise and I, we want to say thanks"

"For everything. For giving us a chance, new friends basically a new life." Blaise added

"Anytime" Harry said

"Yeah, we've had a lot of fun with you guys" Lavender piped up

"I don't know whether we'd have stood up to our parents like that if you hadn't been there for us"

"I'm glad you did" Hermione admitted holding Draco close to her as they all agreed

"OK, enough with the sentimental stuff, I'm tired!" Ron whined playfully

With that they laughed and said goodnight.

* * *

The following day after lunch Blaise and Ernie rushed into the gang's common room out of breath and laughing

"OK, what did we miss?" Ron asked

"Apparently Pansy has detention with Filch for most of next term" Blaise blurted

"What? Are you serious?" Hermione asked

"Oh yeah" Ernie said "and to make it worse she has detention on the first weekend back with McGonagall, and she hates her" he continued

"How'd that happen" Padma asked

"Well, Pansy was really pissed off after Dumbledores punishment that she stormed out, sent a first year flying into a wall then yelled at her calling her a bloody annoying first year and to get out of the way" Blaise said whilst trying not to go into hysterics

"The first year was nearly in tears, and McGonagall just happened to be walking by and gave Pansy detention on the spot" Ernie added also trying not to laugh to much "Pansy was fuming, you could practically see steam coming from her ears. It was hysterical"

"I'd have loved to have seen that" Draco said

"Me too" Ginny agreed

"Then just to wind her up even more we walked past and asked how's it going" Blaise told the gang who were now all in the same state as him and Ernie

"No way, that's bloody brilliant" Ron said

"This is going to be a good year" Parvarti said with a grin, which they all agreed to and set about discussing the coming year.

A/N: Finished it...again! Thanks to dracoisahottie13 for pointing out that the last ending was a bit rushed, I totally agree and wasn't happy with it. So I've rewritten it, and much prefer this ending.

So what do you think? Please review, I love them. Thanx for reading xx


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